Sword and Magic
by YamiNoEve
Summary: My take on our Sword Demon, his transformation to the Sword Saint and his life along with an OC. Future chapters may have OOC-ness. I changed the rating just to be safe. Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.
1. Chapter 1

Northern Ilia – a region in the snowy land which has the most massive, heaviest and deadliest snowstorm in the whole Ilia. Those who enter the area unprepared are knocking on the death door. The people who used to reside there moved out for they could no longer bear the dreadfully harsh weather. However, only one person remains. The so-called bringer of snowstorm…

One fateful night, a travelling swordsman unknowingly entered the lethal region. Overwhelmed by Ilia's natural defence force, he collapsed in the middle of the stormy night, waiting for his time to come, until someone came.

"Oh… A traveller…" With all her might, she carried the swordsman to her small house.

* * *

"Ugh… What is… this place?" The swordsman reluctantly opened his heavy eyes and sat up. He spotted his Wo Dao nearby. "Hmph… Whoever the person is, he's underestimating me…" He got off the bed and exited the modest room.

"Oh… You're awake, I see…"

The swordsman looked up to see a woman with her back facing him sitting on a rocking chair in front of the fireplace. She was covered in a blanket, looking extremely pale.

As soon as she got up and faced the swordsman, he immediately struck her with his swords.

"…! You…"

"Hmph… It was a blunt strike. Looks like her body is weak… Very weak…" He got a clear look at his saviour's face. Her hair was shoulder length and black. Her face was pale and snow white.

Suddenly, a group of grotesque men barged into the house. "Who would've expected us in this weather?! Wahahahahaha! Boys! Take all in your sight! Leave nothing behind!" exclaimed the leader.

"Boss! There're two people in here!" said one of them.

"You're free for the kill! Wahahahahaha!"

The swordsman frowned. "Pfah!" For reasons unknown even to him, he carried the woman into her room and guarded the entrance. "I shall enjoy this feast…"

Two bandits dashed towards the swordsman, but before they could even blink their eyes, he was on the head of one of them with his sword held firmly in his hand. Blood dripped from the bandit's head and as the swordsman leapt off him, his lifeless body fell. He licked some blood on his hand before turning to behead the other bandit who tried to attack him from behind.

The other two bandits and their leader were agitated. The leader swung his axe towards the swordsman but he stepped on the axe, stopping it. "Who the hell are you?!"

He pointed he sword to the bandit's forehead. "Weak…"

His eyes widened. "Don't tell me…" He was not able to finish his sentence as the swordsman thrust his sword through his skull.

"It's no mistake! He must be the infamous Sword Demon!" shouted one of the remaining bandits.

"R-R-Run!" As they tried to escape…

* * *

"…Oh… I fainted… …? Battle noise…?" The woman got up to her feet and began chanting. "Infinite Blizzard: Spiral Icicle!" The whole house suddenly got into a blizzard and icicles started shooting towards the people in the house in a circle with the woman as the centre.

The Sword Demon managed to dodge the attack, but the two bandits were killed. The woman came out of her room to see a pile of dead bodies. "…A magic user…" He approached her.

The woman backed off a little. "Come closer and I'll destroy you from the inside!"

"Hmph…"

* * *

Karel was cleaning his sword while the mage sat in front of the fireplace for heat since the snowstorm was raging outside.

"What are you called?" asked the woman.

"Karel…"

"…Karel, the snowstorm will recede tomorrow…"

"Ah…"

The next day, Karel left while the woman resumed her daily life as usual, but she was interrupted.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a usually clear morning in the Northern Ilia. It'll always be a clear yet cold weather in the morning, giving the only person living there enough time to find anything to eat. Most of the time, she'd come across snow rabbits carcasses or fatally wounded reindeers. By noon, clouds would start looming the area and the temperature would drop slowly. A few hours before sunset, it'd start snowing and as time went, the snowdrop would get heavier. A few minutes before the sun set, the area would be hit with snowstorm. The temperature dropped drastically. Water in a glass would freeze out of the blue. The storm went on until a few minutes after sunrise.

Due to the snowstorm raging for most of the day, the woman could only get out of her house when the sun was up. Hence, she had never seen any sunrises or sunsets. And because of the kind of life she led, her body grew weaker day by day and her health kept deteriorating, leading her to lose hope whatsoever for the next sunshine and expect death anytime.

That day, after Karel left to continue his journey to seek for a worthy opponent, the magic user went to look for food as usual. However, she went out later than usual as she had to throw the pile of dead bodies from her house off a cliff. While she was busy digging into the thick white snow to collect anything to eat, she felt as if she was being watched. However, she ignored the hunch and resumed her work.

"…If you need something, you can speak…"

The stealth footsteps behind her stopped. "Whatcha doin', lass?"

She turned around to see a tall skinny man who smoked cigar. "Living… But I need fresh air to stay alive."

That man snapped. "Oh! Right!" He dropped the cigar and stepped on it. "Whatcha doin' here, lass?"

"I'm not a lass. I'm 25 years old…" She said crossly.

"Oh! Right… So, lady, whatcha doin' here?"

"I'm just an ordinary woman, not a lady…" She sighed.

"Oh! Right… So, woman, whatcha doin' here?"

"You do know that everyone has a name, right?"

"Oh! Right… So, woman, what's your name?"

"You're quite rude as to address me like that… You, what are you called?" She pointed at the man's nose bridge.

"Oh! Right… I'm Dom. You?"

"Snowstorm…"

"Oh! Right… Eh? No… There's no snowstorm coming." Dom stated as he looked around.

"I'm called Snowstorm…" The woman emphasized while fighting the urge to strike Dom with her magic.

"Oh! Right… So, what's your name?" asked Dom. "You're only called Snowstorm, so I suppose you have a name."

"Snowstorm…"

Dom looked up. "Oh! Right… The clouds are marching towards us…"

"…I AM CALLED SNOWSTORM!" Snowstorm yelled.

"Oh! Right… EH? Really?! What a terrible name!"

Snowstorm gritted her teeth and lifted her left hand up high. "Burn! Infinite Fire!"

Dom's cloak caught fire. "Ah… How comfortable… This warmth in this weather… Eh…? Why's my back feel like burning? Oh! Right… You just burned me… … …EH?! WAAA! I'm burning!" He ran around frantically before rolling on the snow to put out the fire.

"…Dimwit…" She turned to walk away.

"Damn woman! Get her!" Dom yelled.

8 other skinny men showed up around Snowstorm with drooling mouths. Their eyes were on a basket in Snowstorm's right hand. "Chief, we better hurry!"

Gruuu…!

"The storm's coming soon!" exclaimed another man.

Gruuu…!

"Yeah! It'll be a trouble if we get caught in!" stated another one.

Gruuu…!

Snowstorm had an indescribable look of disbelief and exasperation on her face as she yelled, "GO AND FIND YOUR OWN FOOD!"

"Get her!" shouted Dom.

Gruuu…!

"Wait!" Snowstorm stopped them. She looked at the thieves one by one before aiming her left palm to Dom. "Infinite Fire!" As the thieves' leader was thrown back by the impact of the fireball, Snowstorm leapt over him and made her escape.

"G-G-Get her!" Dom commanded his subordinates.

Gruuu…!

Snowstorm ran into a forest and started fighting the bandits there. The mage kept casting her magic on the thieves without worrying about breaking her tome as her tome was infinite. Compared to her opponents, she had much more advantage due to her experience in the forest. All of sudden, Dom appeared from her right side and sliced her right arm. He actually wanted to chop her arm off to get the basket, but he was too hungry to do so.

"Ughh… I let him… get too… close…" She left her spot and kept running deeper into the forest with the thieves tailing her.

"FOOD! GIVE US FOOD!"

"Find your own food! What kind of men you people are?! Ah… …I don't have any energy to even yell…" She got slower and one of the thieves was about to catch up to her when he was sliced in half from behind. All of them stopped running. Snowstorm chanted. "Infinite Blizzard!" Half of the thieves were frozen in a large ice who were then had their limbs severed one by one by an unseen force. "This aura…!"

"B-Boss! What's that?!" cried one of the remaining thieves.

"How the hell should I know?!" reprimanded Dom.

A long-black-haired swordsman appeared in front of the thieves and the next moment, he was right in front of Snowstorm with his Wo Dao covered in blood. All of the thieves collapsed with numerous cuts on their bodies. Dom got up gawkily.

"Who… are… you?"

"…Hmph… You're still alive…"

Dom noticed his sword. "Oh! Right… You're the…" The swordsman shut his mouth up eternally.

The mass murderer than turned to see Snowstorm who stepped back to distance herself from him. "…Karel…" He advanced towards her. "Stay away!" Her movement somehow exposed her wounded right arm through her torn sleeve.

"Those scars…"

Snowstorm hid her arm at his comment.

"…You've been in battle, I see…" He grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

"…Stay away…" Snowstorm's body shook a little as she kept drawing away from Karel.

That moment, a gush of ice cold wind blew and snow started to fall, freezing the blood flowing from Snowstorm's wound. Even the blood in her body started to freeze. Feeling that the storm was brewing, she immediately took off to return home albeit realizing that Karel would catch up with her with hardly any hitches. As she reached her front door and was about to enter her house, Karel appeared in front of her with the tip of his sword was a few inches away from her right eye. Cool beads of sweat rolled down her face as she froze in fear. Snowstorm winced slightly due to her blood vessels slowly freezing.

"You possess a strong magical prowess…" said Karel.

"So what?! It doesn't matter! I'll die soon!" yelled Snowstorm.

"In that case, fight me. Fight me so that power won't die in vain."

"You…" She glared dagger at the swordsman. "Sunny Day: Overheat!" With her left hand, she briefly touched Karel's Wo Dao before pushing it aside and jumped backwards.

Caught by surprise at the sudden surge of heat flowing through his sword, Karel gracefully threw the Wo Dao in the air, lunged towards Snowstorm and caught his swords just in time to threaten to behead her. Once again, the woman mage immobilized.

"Why… are you… doing this?"

"My sword is my life. My sword is my reason. I live only to seek a worthy opponent for my sword."

"My blood will only tarnish your sword if you kill me now. I'm not a worthy opponent…"

"…" Karel withdrew his sword and sheathed it. "In that case, let's make a deal."

"A deal…?"

"I shall be the one to end your life. Don't forget that."

Snowstorm gulped. "What do you mean?"

"I'll come back. When that time comes, we'll duel to death." Karel was about to leave when Snowstorm held his right sleeve with a death grip.

"You… Where are you going…?"

"Travel…"

"Take… me… with you…!" The swordsman eyed her suspiciously. "If… If I stay here, I can't get any stronger! And you'll waste your time waiting for me! Please… I don't want… to stay here… anymore…"

"…"

* * *

Karel, the swordsman with cold, menacing eyes and Snowstorm, the mage with pale, sickly look were now in a port town in the southern part of Ilia. The special-magic-tome caster couldn't help greeting almost everyone around her as if reminding them to be grateful for the various weather they had.

"Hello. Nice weather, isn't it?"

That was her greeting. She was no longer the solemn woman whom she used to be back then in her secluded area. Now, Snowstorm was a warm lady who smiled a lot due to her joy of finally being able to see the sunrise and sunset as well as enjoying the weather. No more snowstorms. She could feel the heat of a sunny day, enjoy the pleasingly chilly rainy day and see the lightning whenever a thunderstorm was raging. Her days became more colourful as her hopes of seeing the sunshine finally brightened up to the highest level of brightness. Her health improved and her bode became stronger. She could eat decent food. No more carcasses.

"Karel, I'm going to win some money at the arena."

"Hmph… Do as you wish… We're leaving by evening. If you're late, I'll leave you here," said Karel coldly. Without any reply, Snowstorm left for said place. He then entered an inn and ordered a few glasses of beer.

Out of the blue, a middle-aged woman barged in with a bloodless face. "P-P-Pirates!" She was out of breath. "I saw pirates sailing towards us!" The people in the bar started to panic. However, the innkeeper managed to calm them down by saying that if they stayed in there, they could fight the pirates off together if the pirates attacked them in the inn.

"Sigh… If my sister's boyfriend is here, I bet he and his friends can deal with the pirates just fine. You see, mister, my sister's boyfriend is a pirate as well, and a cool one. On top of that, he's awesome and his captain is actually not a bad pirate. Ah… I wish I have a cool boyfriend like that… But, it doesn't really matter. As long as I can get lots of money, I'll be in paradise," the chatterbox innkeeper blabbered to Karel. "Ah… That noise… They're here. Brace yourselves, folks! If they come here, we'll kick the hell out of them!" yelled the woman.

Without words, Karel got up his seat and ran his fingers through the hilt of his Wo Dao. With a maniac grin on his face, he casually walked out of the bar while licking his lips in excitement. "The feast awaits…"

The innkeeper had a sweat drop as she watched the swordsman leaving the inn. "You… Wait! You… You… You…"

Meanwhile, Snowstorm had finished her business at the arena. She won all of her matches. On her way out of that place, she walked past through a beautiful long-black-haired woman. "A swordswoman…" She silently thought as she noticed the sword she had at her waist.

As she exited the arena, she saw a pile of dead bodies lying around the town and an insane swordsman all over the place. She held her temple in disbelief as she shouted, "How dare you party without me!"

Karel stopped moving for an instant to smirk at the mage before continuing on his onslaught. Irritated, she started chanting and casted several types of magic from her Infinity tome. In a few minutes, they were done.

"Pfah! That was pathetic. I expected more."

"Well, they're just common pirates…"

"Looks like you won plenty of money…"

Snowstorm giggled. "You know what? I got some interesting info from the arena."

"Out with it…" said Karel as he examined the blood stain on his sword.

"Bern's Black Fang is recruiting members…"

A familiar grin appeared on the Swords Demon face as he heard the news. "Time for my blade to bathe in another pool of blood." He stated, full of bloodlust.

The woman mage flinched a little, but Karel's keen eyes caught that movement. It appeared that Snowstorm was still afraid of him. "Since I've got plenty of money, how about catching a boat and sail to Bern?"

"Hmph… You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" He sheathed his sword and started to walk among the heap of lifeless corpses towards the port.

She followed him closely. "Of course. I can finally get out of the prison. Anyway, I'll fill you in on our way to Bern."

They managed to get a free ride to Bern as a token of gratitude from the captain for saving them. As they sailed away, the innkeeper ran as fast as her feet could carry her but stopped at the edge of the port. As she sucked in enough air, she yelled, "YOU HAVEN'T PAID FOR YOUR DRINKS!"


	4. Chapter 4

The pair of travellers were heading for Black Fang's headquarter at the mountain areas in Bern. As they walked, Snowstorm filled Karel in on everything she heard about Black Fang.

"They said the Black Fang was a group of noble-hearted people. They fought for justice. However, when their leader weds a woman named Sonia, the organization changed."

"Why are they recruiting new members now?"

"I don't know. Maybe that Sonia woman wants to get rid of those who are loyal to her husband and gather a group of followers that are loyal to her. The people of Bern said that Sonia is now controlling the Black Fang."

Karel grinned. "Looks like that woman is a worthy opponent." He touched the hilt of Wo Dao which sent a chill down Snowstorm's spine. "By the way, are you sure we're on the right track?"

"According to the information I gathered from more than 10 people of Bern, we should be on our way to that place." She suddenly stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" asked Karel as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

Snowstorm covered her body with her cloak and continued walking followed by Karel. "I don't like the weather here. It's snowing… I bet there's more snow up there…" They continued hiking the mountain until the mage stopped again. "I don't want to go up any further. I sense a snowstorm up there."

"Hmph… What're you going to do then?"

"It's dangerous for you to go up with the storm. I'll stay here and restrain the storm as much as I can."

Karel was obviously displeased with her decision, but he quickly dismissed it as he knew the feast waiting for him up there, so he pushed on. As he reached the top, he saw a group of black-robed men fighting another group of people who seemed of different backgrounds.

"Ah… Here we are… Good wind… Appropriate to the feast about to begin…"

Unexpectedly, a wyvern rider dived towards him with his lance pointed directly to him. He sighed before smirking maniacally as he drew his beloved Wo Dao and chopped the wyvern's wings. The creature roared in pain as it dropped its rider to the snowy ground and fell not far from him. The rider, infuriated, got up to look at Karel, but he was gone. There was no trace of his footsteps. Moments later, he heard a deafening shriek of his wyvern, prompting him to turn his sight to his partner. Astonished, he watched in horror as the Wo Dao wielder dismembered the formerly-winged creature without sympathy. Grabbing his lance, the mad-driven rider charged towards Karel and shoved the lance through his chest, but he was not there.

The Sword Demon appeared behind him. The rider swung his lance to hit the swordsman, but easily, he sliced the lance in half and continued doing so that his opponent's whole arm got sliced as well. That moment, the lancer realized that he was no match for Karel, so he tried to flee. However, the ruthless warrior swiftly severed his legs. Crimson liquid spurted out of his limbs. Holding for his dear life, he continued to escape by crawling causing the white snow stained by his red blood. As Karel watched the man struggled, his left forefinger ran through the blood soaking his sword, which came from the very same man he was observing, and he licked the blood lustfully. The taste of blood was beyond words. It was a paradise for him. More… He wanted more… So he approached the legless man and cut his torso. The cry of pain was a pleasing hum. The look of agony was a delightful sight. The smell of blood was a heavenly scent.

"P-p-p-please… s-sp-spare m-m-me!" The rider begged although the rest of the world would've known just by seeing his current state that he'd be off to the next world pretty soon.

Karel frowned upon hearing the plea. Wordlessly, he slashed his defeated opponent horizontally at his eyes. The corpse fell on the white soil and was slowly covered by the falling snow. Grinning in pleasure, Karel continued towards one of the buildings in his sight. Most of the doors were open. As soon as he entered the building, a green-haired girl stopped him.

"Oh! Who are you?"

"Karel." He answered.

"You're a swordfighter from Sacae. Are you fighting the Black Fang as well?"

"The Black Fang is gathering recruits. I want to hone my blade on them."

The girl looked a little confused. "Why would you… Do you have a reason to?"

"My sword is my reason. My sword is my life. You are…" He thought for a while, looking for a perfect word to describe it. "So beautiful…"

The girl turned red a bit. "P-pardon?" 'What's wrong with this guy…? Is he hitting on me?'

Karel still had his straight look on his face. "Your blade and mine are very different, yet… your swordplay is truly beautiful. Very well. I will join you."

The girl was somewhat pissed off. 'Is he making fun of me? He's so going to get it…!' "You're going to help us? But… why?"

The Sword Demon's thought drifted to his conversation with Snowstorm early during their travel. She asked his why he would help her to which he only replied, 'I smell the scent of battle and blood.' His thought was brought back to reality as he opened his usually tight lips to answer the girl's question. "Someday you'll be a renowned swordfighter. Losing you here would be a waste. I must see you…"

'See me… what? More beautiful? More often? Come on… Don't make me wait too long…!'

"…stronger… I will wait for that time with much anticipation."

The girl was aggravated. "…" She was speechless.

"Shall we continue? The feast awaits…" Karel walked past her to strike down the Black Fang members, but the girl stopped him again.

"I'm Lyn of the Lorca tribe...!"

"Oh… That destroyed tribe, I see…" He replied indifferently. As he drew his sword, Lyn's eyes bulge out at the sight of blood dripping from the sword. She recognized it as the infamous Wo Dao. The princess of Caelin vaguely recalled the story of a swordsman who was willing to murder his entire family just to obtain the sword. That story was so famous across Sacae. The stench of blood irritated her nose. Once Karel started to slice his enemies, Lyn finally realized that the man whom she recruited just now was the notorious Sword Demon. 'Looks like I brought a very dangerous man into our ranks…'

After they defeated the Black Fang members, they made their way down the mountain. Karel spotted Snowstorm walking towards them from the other side of the mountain, so he stopped.

"Karel…?" Lyn turned to see him. The others stopped in their tracks.

"Hmph… You're late…"

Snowstorm arrived. "I thought you said you'll leave me if I'm late."

"Did I…?"

"I don't know. So, why are you with them?" She asked as she eyed the group of people led by Eliwood warily.

"I'm with them. They're fighting strong adversaries. This way, I can bathe my sword all the time…"

A glint of disgust could be seen in Snowstorm's eyes, nevertheless, she still went with him and joined the party. Next destination, Bern Manse!


	5. Chapter 5

Eliwood and company hurried towards Bern Manse to stop Zephiel's assassination. By the time they got there, all the lights were put out and sounds of skirmish could be heard from inside. They hurried with their preparation.

"Where's Lady Snowstorm?" asked Eliwood.

"Hmm… I don't see her anywhere…" said Lyn.

"Did she take off with that mad swordsman?" questioned Hector.

"Never mind. I'll explain the plan again. We'll split into two teams. I'll lead the first team to enter through the east entrance. Hector will lead the second team and enter through the west entrance. On top of that, we must back Lyndis up so that she can safely speak to Nino," said Eliwood.

"Wait… Why Lyn?" asked Hector.

"Because I can speak to her without scaring her. If you go to her, she'll run away before you can even open your mouth!" answered Lyn.

"What the…?!"

"Hey! Don't fight here! We have a very important mission now!" Eliwood stopped them. "So, I'll take Matthew, Serra, Rebecca, Lowen, Ninian and Merlinus with me. Florina, Karel, Snowstorm and Rath shall go with Hector and Lyndis. Rath…? Rath? Where's Rath?"

"They couldn't go for a date, right?" muttered Lyn.

* * *

A few minutes before the discussion…

Snowstorm sat on a rock alone to meditate. She had been sitting there for quite some time when she sensed the presence of a human. "…? You…"

The green-haired young man stopped in his track. "…Did I disturb you…?"

"Sort of… Meditating?"

"Something like that."

"I see. You're a Sacaen… What are you called?"

"Rath…"

"Snowstorm."

Rath sat next to her. "What were you doing?"

"Synchronizing with the nature. It's essential for a magic user to be able to do so."

"…Sacaens always do that. But… why can't we use magic…?"

Snowstorm stared at him in puzzlement for a while before turning her sight towards the environment. "I believe that magic users become one with nature to use their power while Sacaens do so for guidance."

"…You might be right…"

The older woman got up. "Shall we get back? I think we're late for the war council whatsoever…"

"Yes… Let's go…"

* * *

Hector laughed. "There's no way they're da…TING?!" He freaked out as he saw the two missing people heading towards them together.

Lyn's face turned red as she saw _her_ Rath with Snowstorm. _HER_ Rath. She observed the newly-recruited mage walking casually towards Karel while greeting everyone with her signature 'Nice weather, isn't it?'.

"Er… Rath, Snowstorm, where were you?" asked Eliwood.

"Meditate…" answered both of them.

'H-H-H-H-How can he meditate with such striking woman with him?!' Lyn thought.

"Is that so…? Ah… We better move now. Both of you, follow Hector's lead," ordered Eliwood.

With that said, they immediately made their move. Easily, Matthew unlocked the east entrance, allowing Eliwood's group to enter the manse. Hector's group, meanwhile, had to struggle against a few Black Fang members guarding a small door at the west side. The jealous Lyn who fought against the one with a door key accidentally sliced the key in half as she defeated him.

"AH?!" Everyone suddenly stopped fighting as they looked at the now useless key while the wind suddenly blew.

"L-L-L-L-LYN! WHY THE HELL DID YOU BREAK THE KEY?!" Hector yelled at Lyn that his armour almost broke.

Lyn looked down. "I…I'm so sorry… I got carried away…"

"Umm… Lyn… You're not acting like yourself…" said Florina timidly. She was obviously scared when Hector shouted like that.

"Pfah…!" Karel went to the locked door. Hector, Lyn, Florina and Rath looked at him as he prepared to slash the door when Snowstorm stopped him.

"I thought you only want to bathe your sword in blood." The mage's reminder caused the others froze in fright while Karel only grinned. "Stand back. Infinite Elfire!" With her mighty magic, she destroyed the door along with some other units behind it. The duo then went further inside through the door.

"S-S-Scary…" commented Florina silently.

They followed the two and started fighting the Black Fang. Snowstorm saw Lyn fighting, prompting her to stop her attacks and instead observe the Sacaen girl. Her eyes caught every single movement and stroke of the swordswoman. Her gaze was so intense that Lyn could not help but feel as if she was being spied on. That aside, she continued her fight until her enemies were down.

"Huff huff… Looks like I'm done here…" She turned to see the entranced Snowstorm. "Snowstorm…?

"Beautiful… Truly beautiful…"

Lyn's hair stood on end. "Huh…?"

"Your swordplay is truly beautiful…" Snowstorm approached her.

Lyn saw an axe wielder tried to chop the mage from behind, but she was in a loss for words to warn her, so she could only point towards the large man. Without breaking a sweat, without stopping, without turning, Snowstorm sent a surge of Fimbulvetr and killed him. "What do you mean…?"

"You… What are you called?"

"Lyn."

"Lyn, spar with me after this."

"Sorry?"

"If I can match you, I believe I'll stand a chance to match… him…"

The noblewoman of Caelin peeked behind Snowstorm to see the bloodthirsty Karel slaughtering his opponents. 'She wants to pick a fight with the Sword Demon…?'

"I'm not picking a fight with him for no reason. We had a deal." As if she could read Lyn's mind, she stated.

"Is… Is it okay?"

"Yes. Don't go easy on me."

"Very well. We'll spar after this battle."

Satisfied, Snowstorm left. Lyn inhaled some fresh air, not realizing that she had been holding her breath for the whole time. Her knees weakened as she dropped herself onto the floor. 'What's with her aura? It feels different, eerily different from the others… Why am I so scared of her…'

"This is no time for that…"

Lyn looked up to see Rath reaching his hand out for her. She took the hand and got up. Together, they continued their mission to ensure the safety of Zephiel.

Meanwhile, Hector who was fighting a little far from Lyn looked up. "Florina! Get down! Something's up there!"

"Eh? Ah! Lord Hector! Behind you!" She flew down to prevent a mercenary from hurting the brother of Marquess Ostia.

Kachunk!

Hector felt a small force on his back, but it barely did anything to injure him. He turned around to see a mercenary staring at his broken sword. "Jeez… I didn't see you there. Hah!" He took care of it just when Florina arrived at him.

The path to Nino for Lyn was secured. After she spoke to the young mage and recruited her, they regrouped.

"Please, let me speak to Jaffar!" begged Nino.

"Jaffar…? That… man…?!" Hector recalled him as the killer of Leila.

"Please! I beg you!"

Hector clenched his axe. Lyn knew better as not to let Hector handle the situation. "Very well, Nino. We'll cover up for you while you go to him."

"Thank you!"

They moved forward and cleared the enemies to ensure that Nino could speak to Jaffar when Karel stopped in front of Zephiel's room.

"…Karel…? The others stopped when Lyn made that remark.

Snowstorm looked around. "Something's coming. It's getting closer."

Out of the blue, a huge bolt appeared from above and almost struck them. They managed to evade it with Lyn taking Nino with her. "What was that?!" asked Lyn.

"That must be the thing I heard before!" exclaimed Hector.

Snowstorm giggled. "It's Bolting, a magic to attack opponents from afar. But it has a very limited use." She licked her lips.

"It's Ursula!" cried Nino.

"Oh… The Blue Crow… Interesting…" Snowstorm pushed on to find said woman while zapping every enemy in her way with Lightning. Karel followed her as he knew that there must be a number of melee combatants guarding the magic user who tried to strike them with that magic.

"They're challenging… Ursula…?!" Nino freaked out.

"I hate to say this but… trust them... Don't worry… They'll make out of it in one piece," said Hector.

In a few minutes, Karel and Snowstorm faced Ursula and Maxime. The other weaker units were already murdered.

"You must be the infamous Sword Demon. And you… I don't know you," said Ursula.

"I heard the Blue Crow of the Black Fang is an exceptional valkyrie. I've come to test my might against a person of your reputation," said Snowstorm.

"A challenge? From an unnamed mage? How ridiculous… Still, I can't turn down a challenge. Come… Do your worst…!"

"You shall remember the name Snowstorm when you go to hell…" Snowstorm smirked.

Maxime charged towards Snowstorm with his sword, but Karel easily deflected it. "A worthy opponent…"

They stepped out of the mages' fighting range. Maxime equipped his lance and dashed towards Karel, taking advantage of his ability to use all three kinds of weapons. The swordsman skilfully threw his sword towards the paladin's horse and the sword went past through the horse. Maxime's lance missed as Karel swiftly dodged it and caught his sword before it fell onto the floor. The horse collapsed from its injury and died moments later. The now on-foot paladin knew that using lance without being mounted was not a good decision, so he retorted to using his sword. They clashed. Karel shifted his posture a little bit and managed to spin Maxime's sword to make a room for his attack, allowing him to land a hit on his face. Maxime's helmet broke. He was caught off-guard, so Karel thrust his sword through the paladin's throat. The swordsman stepped back in disappointment as Maxime died without putting up a good fight.

Meanwhile, Snowstorm was having lots of fun with Ursula. Although she had to struggle against the Blue Crow, her unique tomes gave her slightly more advantage in the battle. They exchanged Elfire blows and when Ursula's tome broke, she sent a wave of Fimbulvetr. Ursula's horse was frozen to death.

"What kind of magic are you using…?" asked Ursula curiously.

"It's called Infinity."

"Hmph… Even if you keep attacking me, it won't do much to hurt me for I'm resistant to magic."

Snowstorm smiled. She kept her Infinity and took out a thin, black and white tome. "You're right. You're more resistant compared to me. However, is your inside as good?"

"What do you mean?"

"Blue Crow, behold, Bloody Snowstorm, a sure-kill magic that kills you from the inside. But… every ultimate weapon has its drawback, no?"

Ursula chuckled. "Hmph… I wonder how your spell books are so different and how 'unique' this Bloody Snowstorm is…"

"You should be proud to be the first one to taste the might of Bloody Snowstorm." She began chanting. As the chant went on, the surrounding went colder and colder. Frost formed from the spot Snowstorm stood and spread outwards. As she finished chanting, the frost suddenly pulled into her left palm as she lunged towards Ursula. "Bloody Snowstorm!"

"I'll take any hit! I'm impervious to magic!" She made no effort to evade. As Snowstorm's palm touched her chest, she experienced an indescribable pain in her internal organs. She felt as it an explosion just occurred inside and her organs were being messed up. Her whole body cooled down abruptly and she felt numb. She spat blood and among those red liquid, she saw frosts. Every heartbeat felt awfully agonizing, every breathing felt horrifically excruciating. In a split second, she could not breathe properly. "You…! What… have… you… done..?!"

"Bloody Snowstorm is a magic that causes a snowstorm in your body and destroys your inside. There's no way for you to survive. You made a mistake when you underestimated me, Blue Crow."

"Gahhh! Ah! La… dy… So… nia…! Gah!" She fled the manse but, being gravely injured, she could not go far before collapsing and giving in to her fate.

Karel approached her. He looked clearly satisfied with Snowstorm's performance, so he decided to try her. Faster than lightning, he swung his treasured Wo Dao. "Not yet…"

Snowstorm was silent. Karel's sword touched her neck. She knew exactly why Karel stopped. He looked at the Sword Demon's chest to see her left palm aimed there. It wasn't touching him yet. She was not fast enough to catch up with him.

"At least you made a progress…" He sheathed his sword.

"Hey! What're you two waiting for?! The guards are coming! We got to leave now!" yelled Hector.

The two complied and left. Every footstep of them left trails of blood.

"Have you bathed?" asked Snowstorm.

"Yeah. More than usual."

"Me too…"


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you thank you thank you for your reviews. It really helps to motivate me! /_

 _Sir Stunfisk, yep, I agree that Maxime is one of the weakest bosses in FE7, but... well, let's just say Karel didn't know his stats and since he's a paladin, maybe he thought he's a challenge :P_

 _Anyways, 6th chapter. Enjoy, folks..._

* * *

Snowstorm scrutinized her neatly-bandaged left arm. It was a quiet night. Everyone was tired from fighting, so they fell asleep as soon as they found a proper place to rest. She was actually dumbfounded by her poor medical skill after finding out how Serra and Priscilla treated her arm properly. Back then, whenever she received injuries, she would combine countless of plasters and put them over her wounds. When she told them about that, she got a number of lectures from them and not to forget, the scolding for injuring her own arm just to defeat Ursula. As she was lost in thought, Karel came and sat next to her.

"You won't notice if someone sneaks up on you…"

The woman snapped. "Oh… You… Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I should ask you that…"

Snowstorm stared at Karel who was gazing at the stars. He was there when she was scolded by the healers. His reaction that time, albeit very mild, she wouldn't ever forget. It was very mild, very slight that none noticed it. He practically smiled. Not smirked, but smiled. An extremely rare reaction from the Sword Demon. She thought a person like Karel had no such display, but she was wrong.

"Would you stop? You're making me uncomfortable…"

"Oh…?! Sorry… Hmm…?" She saw something near the entrance of the village. "That's…"

Karel looked at the same direction. "The Angel of Death and… the little mage…"

"What're they…!" Karel shut her mouth up with his hands. Not long after that, Jaffar and Nino left. He let her go. "What was that…?"

"I tried to listen to them."

"So…?"

"They mentioned something about the Water Temple."

"There're the lords. What're they talking about?"

"… … … They're going after the two. …They left…"

They saw some of their comrades following Eliwood, Hector and Lyn. "Aren't we going…?"

"No need… Or do you want to go?"

Snowstorm shook her head. "I have a feeling that I won't enjoy it…"

As they kept spending their time in silence, Snowstorm felt that someone was messing with her hair. She turned to see a dazzling blonde smiling at her. 'Why didn't Karel notice her?' The mage looked at Karel only to realize that he dozed off already as light snores could be heard. A charming silver-haired man came and held the woman at her waist as they exchanged kiss.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, but you have such beautiful hair. This is the first time I saw you let your hair loose," said the woman.

"Say, have we ever met?" asked the man.

"I believe not. I just started travelling, so it's impossible," answered Snowstorm.

"Hmm… You remind me of an old teacher of mine. She taught me magic when I was very young for almost a year."

"How many years ago?"

He thought for a while. "20 odd years ago, I believe…"

Snowstorm got up. "Did she present you an incomplete tome?" There was a slight hint of melancholy in her tone.

"Yes, she did. How did you know?"

"Ah… So you're Lord Pent… My mother used to talk a lot about you…"

Pent was flabbergasted. "Lady Rika is your mother?! How is she doing now…?"

"She passed away 20 years ago…"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

The black-haired woman carved a sad smile. "It's okay. You must be Marchioness Reglay, Lady Louise, isn't it?"

Louise nodded. "Indeed. I heard the people of this army spoke of you as a scary magic user, but when I'm standing here in front of you, you proved them wrong." Snowstorm giggled. "I believe you are called Snowstorm."

"Yes." The three sat.

"Why are you called so?" asked Louise.

"Originally, my parents wanted to name me something else. But when the villagers came to visit my parents to congratulate them, they asked, 'What's the baby's name?' My parent said, 'We haven't named her yet. The snowstorm got stronger when she was born that we had no time to name her.'"

The couple listened to her story conscientiously.

"Then, all of sudden, one of the villagers said, 'Come to think of it, the snowstorms are stronger than usual these past few days. I bet the child brought it. I know! Let's just call her Snowstorm.' That's where I get this name. Honestly, I actually prefer to use 'I'm called Snowstorm' rather than 'My name is Snowstorm'."

"What a terrible way to name a child," said Louise.

"As time went, the villagers blamed me for the harsh weather. My parents died to restore the weather."

"We're so sorry to hear that. You're such a strong lady, Snowstorm. You've been through a lot. If we had known you earlier, you might not need to go through those things," said Pent.

Snowstorm smiled again. "But those are what made me who I am today. Because of my fate, I met all of you…"

"Fate works in an interesting way. I never thought that I'd met Lady Rika's daughter and I never expect to see the great tome she worked on in action. I tried to master the Basis of Weather, the tome she gave me, but it's hopeless," said Pent. "I kept it at my house in Etruria."

"My mother created that tome to counter the harsh weather in Ilia. The weather in Etruria is nice, so perhaps it's not supportive."

"I see. Maybe I should try Ilia." He stared into the distance.

Snowstorm was quite taken aback by his statement. "I suggest not. I had a hard time to study magic under my mother's tutelage and after her death. It cost me my body and health. I was very sickly back then in Ilia. After I started to travel, only then my body and health improved. I think Nabata can be a better training ground for you. You always go there, don't you?"

"Yes. I think you're right. I'm more used to Nabata's sandstorm than Ilia's snowstorm, am I right, my love?"

"You are certainly right, my Lord Pent." They got up. "Time to hit the sack. After this war ends, come to Etruria once in a while. No… Drop by Nabata. We're mostly there."

"I will."

Pent and Louise left. The mage then set her sight on Karel. She was amazed to see him still sleeping despite them chatting very close to him. 'He's a wary man. He's always on his guard, yet he let us get near him when he's this vulnerable. Why…?' She kept pondering, but deep in her heart, she hoped that her instinct was right. 'Karel, somehow, is still human…'

* * *

 _I hate Night of Farewells chapter. It's too troublesome especially when the paths disappear. Also, that druid with Berserk staff... DX_

 _I wonder if I did good enough in this chapter...? Please leave your thoughts, thanks._

 _P.S.: I think Karel is out of character O_O_


	7. Chapter 7

_Cog of Destiny with Lloyd is a sad chapter for me. I like Lloyd and I really hate to kill him. Anyways... chapter 7..._

* * *

"Miss Ninian, stay behind me. This road is treacherous and we'll be in trouble if you're exposed to danger," said Snowstorm as she motioned Ninian to stand near her.

"Thank you… Umm… How do you know me?" asked Ninian.

"Let's say that you're the only dancer in this army and… you're so easy to distinguish…"

"Oh… Really…? You are…?"

"I'm called Snowstorm…" Unbelievably, Ninian laughed at her name. Snowstorm frowned slightly, but she quickly brushed it off. "Say, you're half-breed, aren't you…? She whispered.

Ninian cringed at the question. "How… How do you know…?"

"I sensed something more than human in you… Are you here for your human parent?"

The dancer looked into a distance sombrely. "No… Nergal lured us… I don't remember my parents…"

Snowstorm stared at Ninian contemplatively. "Nergal, huh…?" As they continued walking, they finally arrived at the Shrine of Seals.

The three lords took a deep breath as they set their sights on the old, majestic temple. "I can see it… The Shrine of Seals…" stated Eliwood.

"This is strange. We're made it so far without seeing a single soul," said Hector.

"I'm afraid that's no longer the case," warned Lyn as she pointed towards several men hiding in the forests nearby.

Hector was taken by surprise at realizing that the Black Fang were already there to execute the law of Fang on them. Upon realizing that Lloyd the White Wolf was there, Nino begged Eliwood to let her join the battle as she wanted to speak to the remaining member of the Four Fangs, but Jaffar insisted that it would be futile as they were never Fangs. Eliwood seemed to contemplate on Nino's request during the battle preparation, but Hector and Lyn were strongly against it. Due to the circumstances, Nino and Jaffar were not allowed on the battlefield.

As the battle commenced, Snowstorm who was teamed up with Hector, Florina and Karel glanced at the upset Nino who was forced to stay behind.

"Focus on the battle…" reminded Karel. He went ahead.

"Karel…" She started to fight from the backlines. After all, that was Eliwood's order. They were so carried away by their battles that after a while, Karel was out of sight and Florina was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it…! They're gone! Looks like it's up to us, Snowstorm! Stay back!" Hector started to swing his Wolf Beil recklessly. Anyone who dared going close to him would definitely meet his end by the young lord. Snowstorm, on the other hand, kept archers and magic users away from the melee combatant when suddenly, Hector's axe hit her right arm. However, the axe user was too busy to notice her hiss. He wasn't even aware of her abrupt halt or the crimson fluid dripping onto the grass. "That should do about it." He stopped to take a breather when more Black Fang assassins approached. "Oh! More enemies? I won't let them even come close." He charged forward, completely forgetting the existence of a woman named Snowstorm.

Snowstorm stared at Hector impassively. "There he goes. I guess he'll be fine without my backup. For now, I'll just tend to my wound here. …How reckless…" Sighing, she retreated to a nearby fort and started applying vulnerary to her wound.

While she was busy healing herself, a sword master snuck up on her and stabbed her at her right shoulder with a poison sword. She gritted her teeth holding back the pain as she pointed her right leg at her enemy and unleashed a huge blast of Infinite Fimbulvetr on him, killing him in the process. Fully knowing that moving around would hasten the spreading of the poison, Snowstorm froze the whole poisoned area to slow down the toxin. 'Looks like I'm getting another lecture from the clerics…'

"Lloyd!"

Everyone on the battlefield was startled to hear that voice, that familiar voice. The lords stared in horror as Nino confronted Lloyd. Hector looked at the backlines only to find Jaffar busy with some enemies who managed to reach there. He could clearly see the slight look of frustration on his face as he clashed with his opponents. The odds seemed to be against him which might be the reason why Nino was able to sneak away.

"We must get to Nino!" shouted Lyn.

"Everyone knows that! But who can make it in time?!" yelled Hector as he started to drag his feet along with his heavy armours.

"There're a number of assassins there! We must go there or Nino will get killed!" Eliwood started rushing to the shrine.

Lloyd eyed Nino regretfully. "Nino…"

"Listen to me, please. This is all a mistake…"

"Do not speak. We are enemies now… I can show you no mercy." His tone was threatening yet there was an underlying distress in it.

Nino's eyes began to get watery. "Lord Eliwood is not a bad man! You'll fight knowing that?"

"They were Linus' enemies, Nino. My brother's enemies. They murdered my brother…! How can I not avenge my blood brother?" He clenched his sword and bit his lip to the extent of bleeding. "Lord Eliwood and his friends were Linus' enemies, so they are my enemies too. That's why I fight…"

The green-haired mage's tears fell. "Lloyd… Please…"

Lloyd himself fought the urge to shed tears. "Don't cry, Nino… You must live for the future. You deserve it… You deserve to live…" He took in a deep breath. "I am bound to this course. There's no turning back for me. Either I avenge Linus or I join Linus… Nino, you deserve to live…" Nino shook her head in refusal. "Nino… Kill me, and don't look back…!"

The orphan cried. "No! I don't want to! Lloyd!"

The White Wolf half-heartedly unsheathed his sword and lunged towards the crying Nino. The first step he took, he saw the image of Linus and him during their childhood when they first learnt to hold a sword. Jaffar who was finally done with his opponents felt as if his heart was ripped apart and torn to millions at the sight of Nino confronting Lloyd. He was too far to reach them even with his superior speed.

Lloyd's second step, he could see the smile on his father's face when he married Sonia from the fragment of his memory. He, as well as Linus, disliked Sonia, but for their father's sake, they accepted her. However, Nino was their light. Eliwood, Hector, Lyn and the other shouted at Nino telling her to escape, but Nino was in her own world.

Lloyd's third and final step, the image of his last meeting with Linus and Nino came. The joy in Nino's face as she went to finish her assignment and their pride for having such a good sister, albeit not blood-related, would not be forgotten.

A tear fell. Lloyd cared less about his tear as he raised his sword up and prepared to strike Nino. His sword was already swung when he saw the reflection of his memories with Linus and Nino. 'No… I can't do it… I must stop…' But, it was too late. The sword was only half an inch from Nino's head.

Kachunk!

All people were shocked to see Karel appearing out of nowhere and stopped the blade just in time. He grinned. Two other assassins tried to attack Nino when the sand from the temple building suddenly stabbed them. Everyone finally realized that Snowstorm warped Karel there and attacked the assassins from afar. Said mage then warped in, took Nino with her and then warped to Jaffar.

"Take care of her," said Snowstorm. She then returned to Karel's side. Seeing that things were under control, the others resumed fighting. Snowstorm stood back-to-back with Karel. "You know what...? The weather's gloomy today… Somehow, I feel like I'm in Ilia."

"Hmph… You better not collapse here…"

"I'll be fine. After all, I'm expecting to see a change of weather here. Maybe a sandstorm…"

Karel smirked. 'A duel with the White Wolf in a sandstorm… That's thrilling.'

Snowstorm chanted and cast one of the magic from her Weather tome, Sandstorm. The whole building was shrouded as the deadly battle commenced.

Lloyd swung his sword from his left side, so did Karel. Their swords clashed. Lloyd raised an eyebrow as he didn't recall seeing Karel amongst his enemies before, but he swore he had seen that face somewhere. His concentration was bothered by the stench of blood coming from Karel's sword, so he broke free from the clash. He tried to land a hit on Karel using his fencing style, but Karel blocked every single stroke. The Sword Demon then moved at a high speed to slice Lloyd but their speeds matched. They stopped for a while as their evenly matching prowess and the storm wore them out. Moments later, they vanished from a normal human's eyesight. Only the sound of metals clashing could be heard. Karel ran his Wo Dao along Lloyd's sword to try to knock his sword out, but the White Wolf countered it by directing his sword into a circular motion and broke free. He leapt backwards and used the special ability of his sword to summon a lighting to damage Karel. The Sacaen evaded just in time.

Snowstorm noticed Lloyd's attack. "Be careful. It's a Light Brand." She reminded Karel who only grinned even wider. The Ilian proceeded to fight four Black Fang assassins. The battle was relatively easy as the sandstorm hindered their movements. Snowstorm summoned an Infinite Elfire and completely burnt one of the assassins to his bone. Two of the assassins charged towards her from two different directions, giving her an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. She leapt just when their attacks were about to reach her, causing them to attack one another instead. She then sent two FImbulvetr Slashes to finish them off. As she was facing the last assassin, the poison in her body started taking its toll on her. Her movement became slower and her magic became less accurate. The assassin, a sword master, seized the opportunity and thrust his sword through her left shoulder and pushed her backwards to stab Karel who was behind her.

Sensing danger, Karel leapt and spun in the air as he kicked Snowstorm backwards to get her off the sword. The mage was free from the sword, but due to Karel's kick, she fell onto the floor while the sword master kept moving forward due to his momentum. Unable to use both arms, Snowstorm used her left foot to shoot a number of fireballs to her opponent. She then used a variation of her Sandstorm and pierced his torso with a sand sword. All of her opponents were now defeated. The only one left was Lloyd.

Lloyd went for Snowstorm's head, but Karel kicked his sword from his target and chopped off his left shoulder. Furious, Lloyd sliced Karel diagonally when he saw a brief opening from the Sword Demon after his attack. Unfortunately, Lloyd also left an opening, giving Karel enough time to recover from his injury and thrust his bloody sword into Lloyd's left eye. The White Wolf dropped his sword as he writhed in pain. The ruthless Karel proceeded to chop off his limbs one by one before slicing his torso and decapitating him.

The sandstorm vanished. The battle outside ended too. Eliwood and the others were standing outside the building. They stared in horror at the dismembered body parts of Lloyd while some of them puked in disgust. Karel sheathed his sword after licking some of the blood on it and advanced towards Snowstorm. The mage who was on the floor tried to back off in fright, but she was in no condition to shift around.

Karel knelt before her. "You're poisoned…"

Snowstorm herself forgot about the poison. She looked at her right shoulder. The ice had already melted, so it was no wonder that she felt an appalling twinge in her body.

"…Come…" Snowstorm was deadpanned. "Take my hand… You're going to die if you don't get proper treatment…"

'Why…?' She was taken aback by his sudden concern.

"…Don't make my wait pointless…"

The mage grasp his real intention. Determined to live up to her promise of getting stronger and fighting him someday, she took his hand. They walked away from their battleground while Nino grieved Lloyd's demise.

* * *

 _How's the chapter? I'm having a hard time to keep them in character, especially HIM..._

 _I wonder if I went overboard with Lloyd O_O I just hope Nino won't come and hunt me lol_


	8. Chapter 8

_Slow-pacing chapter... Hope you enjoy it...!_

* * *

Snowstorm looked down as she was presented with a million-word length of lecture from Serra and Priscilla for her way of handling her poisoned wound. Karel, who refused to listen to any blabbering of the clerics, went to get someone else to treat his injury.

"I really need to tell Lord Eliwood to stop sending you to the frontlines. You're just a big, big troublemaker for us!" scolded Serra as she was done with tending to Snowstorm.

A few minutes later, Eliwood and the other lords returned from Bramimond's. As they were discussing, Nergal appeared and demanded the two mysterious children. Ninian, in exchange for Eliwood and the others' safety, agreed to go with Nergal, but the young lord of Pherae tried to stop her. Nergal cast a very powerful spell as a parting gift, prompting Athos to erect a barrier.

"The barrier's breaking!" shouted Athos.

"His power…!" Lyn's knees trembled as Nergal laughed hysterically.

Snowstorm got up. "Magic users, lend Lord Athos your powers!" All magic users followed her lead and surrounded Nergal with their palms towards the Dark Druid. They focussed their inner energy to create another barrier and combined with Athos' barrier, they managed to contain Nergal's blast.

* * *

Eliwood opened his eyes. "Where…"

"Camp." He tried to find the source of the voice. "You and Nils were both knocked unconscious by Nergal's parting gift, remember?"

He got up with Hector's help. "His power… is much greater than before…"

Athos entered the room with Lyn. "If he truly wishes to kill you, even my power couldn't save you."

"Lord Athos' barrier alone barely stood up to his power. It took all of our magic users to stop his magic from killing you and Nils," said Lyn.

They started discussing on saving Ninian from Nergal and Athos instructed them to get the sacred weapons to do so. He also presented Eliwood a Heaven's Seal.

Outside the camp, Karel was watching over Guy practising his swordplay as the young Sacaen of the Kutolah had him agree to teach him the ways of the sword. Once in a while, Karel would eye Snowstorm who was meditating when Erk came to her. His curiosity led him to eavesdrop to their conversation.

"Greetings, Lady Snowstorm…"

Without looking away, Snowstorm answered, "Hello. Nice weather, isn't it?"

"Yes. I'm Erk, Lord Pent's student." He sat next to the older mage.

"Do you need anything from me?"

He hesitated for a while. "Can… Can you please teach me the ways of magic?"

Snowstorm stopped meditating. She gazed at Erk, picking the best words to reject his request. "I cannot teach you. I maybe can instruct you to read this and that or practise this and that, but the hard work comes from your heart."

"My heart…"

She tried to find every single word she could use to avoid him from being her student until Pent came to her mind. "Lord Pent is doing a good job in teaching you. He brought out the best of your natural talent in magic. The rest is up to you."

Erk seemed to ponder on her words before he smiled. "I see. Thank you, Lady Snowstorm." He left.

"…Anytime, Erk." She continued meditating but was interrupted again by Hector who loudly told them to prepare for a quick stop at the Western Isles.

* * *

The party arrived at the destined place on the Western Isles. According to Athos, he could only bring two other people with him as bringing too many allies could make things worse. He decided not to bring Eliwood considering his loss of Ninian and he also did not want to take Lyn as he needed her to watch things over while he was in the cave. He needed those who could really help him. He mastered his axe moves, but he's still a novice swordsman. A skilled swordsman was required. Of course, a healer is compulsory. Hector looked among his allies and his sight was locked on the long-black-haired sword master. Sitting next to him was a woman magic user, who could use both offensive and healing magic.

"I've decided, Greybeard. I'll take Karel and Snowstorm with me," said Hector.

"I have nothing against that, but you should consult them. This is a dangerous mission," said Athos.

Hector went to the pair. "Hey, Karel and Snowstorm. I'm taking you with me."

Karel touched his sword. "As long as there's something to cut, you'll have my aid."

Snowstorm, however, looked troubled. "I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down." Hector gave her a surprised and disapproving look. "After we made the barrier, I somehow lost my magic power."

The Archsage came. "You lost your magic?" She nodded. "I think your body is strained from focussing your magic all of sudden and due to that, it fails to respond properly to your command. Your inner energy seems to be damaged a bit, too." Snowstorm frowned. "However, I believe this is the perfect chance to restore yourself. Right now, your body doesn't sense the presence of any threat, but if you follow Hector, it will speed up your recovery."

"How about my inner energy?" asked Snowstorm.

"A damaged inner energy will remain damaged for a lifetime. You can still use your magic power as usual, but if you overly use it, the damage will be greater and more severe. In the end, you'll lose your ability to use magic. But, if your conviction is strong enough, something may happen."

The woman thought over Athos' words and agreed to go with Hector in his mission to claim Armads the Thunder Axe.

* * *

They entered the cave cautiously. The spirit of the guardians had awakened. They were aiming to prevent Hector from claiming Armads.

"What kind of place is this…? Those smoke…" Hector felt hard to breathe.

"Be careful, Lord Hector. Those are toxic smoke. Get hit by them and you're poisoned," warned Snowstorm. "You too… Karel…? Err… Where's Karel?"

Hector turned to his left side and yelled as Karel was gone. He went off to his bloodless feast, something he wouldn't really enjoy. He sighed. "What a reckless fool… What…?"

Snowstorm had a priceless expression on her face. 'A reckless fool calling a reckless swordsman a reckless fool… What a reckless fool…' She thought.

"Oh! I remembered something! I heard from Serra that you got hurt from the last battle! You were teamed up with me, weren't you? Why did you leave my side? A mage's supposed to always stay behind a melee combatant, ya know! Sigh… I should pay more attention to you. You're reckless, just like Karel. Let me see the wound." Snowstorm was speechless. A lecture on recklessness from a reckless fool himself. She felt humiliated. "This wound… It doesn't look like it came from the enemies." His sweat dropped. "Don't tell me… Even Serra told your wound was strange… Oh no! Snowstorm! I'm so sorry! I got carried away!"

She heaved a heavy sigh. "It's okay."

"No! It's not okay! I'll pay more attention to you after this. I promise!"

"No, don't do that. You pay your attention to the enemies. I'll pay attention to myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry. Besides, I need to get my power working again."

Hector let out a sigh of relief. "Phew… I thought you're going to kill me like how you did to your enemies. Anyways, let's go. Karel's going to have all the fun while we're here." He left with Snowstorm trailing behind. But, soon, she was cut off by a mercenary.

Snowstorm could not attack. She could only avoid the attacks from the spirit until he cornered her. He tried to hit her head, but she used her tome to catch the blade in between the pages and stop the attack. She parried the sword to her right side and landed a kick on the mercenary's torso with her left leg, but to no avail. The spirit let go of his sword and held Snowstorm's leg. He twisted her limb. To prevent any serious injury, she spun herself along, resulting in her falling down ungracefully. The mercenary grabbed his sword and tried to hit her again, but she caught the sword between the heel and the sole of her left boot. Desperately, she got her hands on a Heal staff and knocked the mercenary's head with the crystal ball on the staff. She then got up and ran away, but the spirit chased after her. She had to go past a large hole with toxic smoke. To avoid from getting poisoned again, she spun her staff to make a shield and safely went past the hole, but two fighters were in her way. The mercenary arrived to her. She was surrounded. The first fighter swung his axe from her left side while the other swung from her right side. The mercenary attempted to cut her vertically. Seeing no more room for escape, she desperately chanted a random incantation from her spell book. Due to its randomness, the magic backfired instead, but the impact altered the course of the enemies' attacks. She was injured from their hits, but not gravely wounded. Realizing that her power was returning, she focussed more on casting her magic and chanted a proper incantation. As another attack incoming, she finished her mantra and successfully cast a small Sandstorm. The opponents collapsed, but got up quickly. She then cast a magic she rarely used. "Zud!" Due to her re-awakening, the effect of the magic could be seen even outside the cave. The temperature dropped drastically. The toxic holes were covered in ice. Every water droplets froze and the ground was also frozen. The opponents' feet were stuck to the ground. As they tried to walk, their feet got detached. They tried to move forward, but more body parts got severed. In the end, they froze to death.

Hector noticed the sudden change. He could barely move in his armour, but he would not give up. He hardly stood idly to prevent himself from freezing. The same went to Karel, although he himself was a restless man to begin with.

Outside the cave, everyone gathered in a huge barrier put up by Athos. They could see the thick layer of ice as the frost made their way up the barrier. Although they were free from the threat of being frozen to death, they could still feel the extreme cold temperature. Athos knew instantly that Snowstorm's power returned.

With Snowstorm's magic's extravagant entrance, Hector managed to claim Armads. They then returned to Ostia.


	9. Chapter 9

They camped outside the outskirts of Ostia. More than half of the army were down with a fever and cold due to Snowstorm's magic. The three lords were still up, though. They gaped at the sealed lava cave.

"…I never imagined there could be a place like this in Lycia…" said Eliwood.

Lyn who had just recovered from her coughing fit nodded in agreement. "The air is so hot. It even hurts to breathe."

"Look down there. There's lava everywhere. Hey! Next to the path… Are those columns of flame?!" exclaimed Hector. He began to imagine how treacherous it would be to cross that place. Armads' cave was nothing compared to this. If he accidentally stepped on the fire pillar with his armour on, he's a goner.

Athos looked forward, wisdom written on every wrinkle on his face. "Long ago, in the depths of this cavern… When Lycia was a single country, an altar was built."

"Here…? In this… place?" Eliwood questioned unbelievably.

"There's something here that needs protection from those with evil hearts." Athos could hear Eliwood mumbled Durandal in his breath. "That's correct. The weapons we wielded contained great strength. Power fearsome enough to cut down dragons… Today, the might in those remaining weapons is not what it once was. Yet, they have been safeguarded to keep them from evil hands. This place… No one had ever stepped foot in here since Roland's death. Roland's presence still fills the air. I can feel it. Now, all that reside here now are… former soldiers who guard the sword…" He took in a deep breath and looked into Eliwood's eyes. "This is your trial, Eliwood. A few of you may enter, but only you can approach the altar. You alone, Eliwood. Go and prove that you have the strength… The strength to wield Durandal!" Athos encouraged Eliwood as he whispered in his heart, 'Go forth, descendant of Roland! Succeed my old friend!'

The motivated Eliwood now had to choose who to bring with him. He had only a few choices since most of his allies were down. Finally, he decided to bring Rebecca, Lowen, Karel and Snowstorm since they were the healthiest among the remaining healthy people. As they were preparing to enter the cave, Eliwood approached Snowstorm. He hadn't had any chance to properly speak to her. However, when he was close enough to her, Karel came and talked to her. His eerie aura caused him to back off. When Snowstorm noticed him, she asked him if he wanted to discuss about the next battlefield which all of them agreed that they needed a serious discussion on it.

"There are 3 entrances. All entrances lead to the altar. The only uncertain thing is what trial lies ahead. As Lord Athos stated before, I must prove myself worthy enough to wield Durandal, so I shall take the central entrance alone. Lady Snowstorm, can you use Physic staff?" She nodded. "In that case, I'll have you go with Sir Karel with a Physic and a Heal staff through the left entrance. Rebecca, you shall go and back Lowen up in the right entrance. Since I must prove my worth, I'd really appreciate it if you bring ordinary weapons with you. No Infinity tome, no Weather tome, no Wo Dao…"

They reluctantly complied and headed for the convoy to get their equipments. Rebecca took with her a steel bow while Lowen equipped himself with a steel lance and a steel axe. Karel had to choose a sword among all the swords he disliked while Snowstorm could scarcely hide her frustration at Eliwood's command. 'No Infinity tome, no Weather tome… Ah! This is a nightmare!' Finally, Karel and Snowstorm settled on choosing a steel sword and a Thunder tome respectively. The four then entered the cave after Eliwood who was equipped with a silver sword and an iron lance with a vulnerary entered the central entrance.

"This is boring… I don't like this kind of feast…" stated Karel as he lackadaisically cut down the spirit guardians of the cave.

Snowstorm who had quite a difficulty to control the Thunder tome smiled dryly. "I don't like it too."

The two frustrated combatants attacked their opponents wildly to vent out their dissatisfactions. In a blink of an eye, the whole left path was clear. They then approached a cracked wall. Furious, they launched an all-out attack on the poor, innocent wall, crumbling it to reveal another set of spirit warriors.

Karel's and Snowstorm's screams of wrath could be heard throughout the cave. Eliwood was kind of afraid that their voices might collapse the cavern. On the right side, Rebecca's distressed cry for Snowstorm's Physic went unheard. Lowen was heavily injured and they forgot to carry some vulneraries. Although she managed to fend off the enemies, the intense heat was wearing Lowen out, especially the fire pillar just next to him. Rebecca was not strong enough to pull the heavily armed Lowen away from that place and Snowstorm could not hear them at all.

Ultimately, Eliwood managed to make it to the next side of the wall where Karel and Snowstorm wiped out all of their enemies to release their anger. The only one left standing was Georg, the warrior guarding the altar.

"Hmph… You're late…" said Karel. "But, they're later…" He motioned to the remaining cracked wall as he walked to that place in an attempt to bring it down.

Seizing the opportunity, Eliwood went to speak to Snowstorm. "Lady Snowstorm, have you gotten used to our ranks?"

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Lord Eliwood." She closed the almost broken Thunder tome and concealed it in her cloak.

"If you need help, just inform me."

"Yes. I will. How are you faring, by the way?"

Eliwood was kind of nervous when the mage asked her that. "Me…? Oh! I… I'm well, but the weather's wearing me out." He berated himself on the inside as he made himself look weak in front of one of the best magic users in the army.

"Hmm… So the weather's not nice." Snowstorm made several hand moves and chanted something Eliwood could not contemplate. Two white ball of light appeared at both her hands.

"W-what're you doing?!" He freaked out.

Snowstorm looked at him imperturbably. "Changing the weather…"

"Are you even capable of doing that without your Weather tome?"

She nodded. "Yes. But I require more magic power to do so..."

"Err… That's an interesting ability, Lady Snowstorm." He laughed.

"You laughed… Why…?"

"I'm amused. Somehow, I feel better. There's no need to change the weather, Lady Snowstorm."

Snowstorm halted her attempt to change the weather. "I don't understand, but if you said so…" Suddenly, they heard the sound of metal clattered. She turned to see Karel looking at his broken sword in annoyance. Sighing, she said, "If you'll excuse me…" She went to the sword master and used her remaining tome to bring the wall down. As the wall collapse, she saw Rebecca kneeling next to Lowen. "Oh… Lovebirds…"

Rebecca and Lowen blushed. "N-N-No! Lady Snowstorm! Lowen is injured! Please help him!"

"He's injured…? Why didn't you call for me…?"

"I've been calling you for hundreds of times! But you're too noisy!"

"Oh…"

"DON'T 'OH' ME!"

"Ah…"

"If you have time to stand there and stare at us, you better help him!"

"Oh…" She went to heal Lowen. When she was done, Eliwood was also done with Georg. She could see Karel gritting his teeth as he clearly wanted to slay Georg… or Eliwood…

They went out of the cave with Athos and Durandal.

"So, this is the legendary blade…" said Hector.

"Durandal, the sword of sacred fire. …It's strange, isn't it? I've never seen it before, and yet, it feels so familiar…"

Eliwood lifted the sword high. "I will use this to battle Nergal! Come! To the Dragon's Gate! …What…?! The sword…" Durandal glowed. "It's glowing… Watch out! Something's coming…" As he said that, an ice dragon appeared. "It… can't… be…"

Lyn's eyes widened. "It's a… dragon!"

"No! How is it possible?!" Hector yelled.

Eliwood suddenly took his stance. "Get back, everyone!" Swiftly, he aimed his sword and thrust it through the dragon. Athos seemed as if he was trying to stop Eliwood, but it was too late. Durandal had made Eliwood attack and defeat the ice dragon. As the dragon collapsed, Hector went to Eliwood to check on his friend, but the young lord of Pherae insisted that he was fine and his body moved by the sword's guidance.

Athos looked at the dragon. "The sword of sacred fire was made to combat dragons. With so much power, who can say what it might be capable of? But, this ice dragon… surely…"

"Is something the matter, Lord Athos…?" asked Eliwood.

"No… It can't be…"

Athos was unable to finish his sentence when Nergal interrupted. "Let me be the one to answer that…" He appeared and teleported Nils to his side. "Ninian proved useless. I've come for a replacement… He won't be awake for a while. Nils will do what Ninian would not do for me."

Enraged, Eliwood pointed Durandal towards Nergal. "What have you done to Ninian?!"

Nergal laughed. "Me? What have I done?! Don't make me laugh, young lord of Pherae. It's not what I've done. It's what you've done, Eliwood! Did you never once question it? Why the siblings were needed to open the Dragon's Gate? Why did it have to be Ninian and Nils? Why not someone else? If it's power, I have enough power to overwhelm you! But, why them? Why?!" Eliwood was silent. All eyes were on them. "The answer is simple. The Dragon's Gate cannot be opened by humans. Why would humans be able to open a gate that was designed for… DRAGONS?!" Everyone was flabbergasted. "It's pitiful, really. Poor Ninian's plight. Coaxed by my honeyed words, she passed through the gate… Though unable to return home, she refused to aid me and wandered lost and alone, until… she was slain by the hand of the one she loved."

Eliwood lowered his Durandal and his knees trembled. "What… What are you saying…?"

"Can you not guess? Or is it that you're afraid to know? Very well. Let me tell you, Eliwood. The ice dragon there… The beast slaughtered by your hand… That is Ninian. The girl you loved. The girl you swore to protect. She returned to her true form and lost all human memory. Yet you, above all else, remained in her heart, and she came here... Look upon the creature you have slain. That is Ninian." Eliwood dropped Durandal. "Go on, look. She's using the last of her strength to take human form for one last time. I believe there may still be time enough to say farewell. You know, of course, that you cannot save her." He laughed.

"Nergal! You foul demon!"

"It's not me! You, Eliwood! You killed her! You!" Nergal continued to laugh.

"I… Aaahhh!" Eliwood yelled in anger.

Hector held his friend. "Calm down! Get hold of yourself, Eliwood!"

The ice dragon turned into Ninian. The party witnessed Eliwood taking the dying Ninian into his arms, pleading her to survive. But, the dragon girl was, instead, glad that he was unharmed. As she breathed her last, she begged Eliwood to protect the land. The crestfallen Eliwood cried Ninian's name, hoping that his voice would revive her, but it was hopeless. Nergal proceeded to leave, but Athos assaulted him with Forblaze, though it barely scratched him. Claiming that he was impervious, he laughed at the miserable Athos. He then left without Nils, saying that it was out of respect to Athos. As Nils woke up, he wailed over his sister's death.

* * *

Snowstorm sat by the river, resting. Her body was worn out because she used the ordinary tome she was not used to. Karel who was at the other side of the river gazed at her. She looked unusually down.

"You knew…"

Sighing, she said, "Yes… But I though the lords knew it too…"

"Hmph…"

They sat in their usual silence. The chilly water flowing through her submerged feet felt so refreshing. Karel, on the other hand, cleaned his Wo Dao, something he hadn't done for quite a while. The water at his side was red from the blood stain from his sword. Snowstorm observed his every movement. She saw the battle-hardened warrior's hand gently cleaning his sword. Every single stroke and the red colour faded little by little. She wondered how many met their ends at the Wo Dao.

"Karel…"

"What…?"

"Say, what're you going to do after this war?"

Without looking at Snowstorm, he answered, "Find a worthy opponent."

"Don't you get tired from just… fighting?" A hint of sorrow was in her voice. A moment of silence went.

Karel inhaled. "It's for this sword…" He looked at Snowstorm. "Your power keeps increasing…"

She cringed. "I'm not strong enough yet."

He continued cleaning his sword. "Then, I shall wait for you."

Snowstorm got up. She wanted to say something, but she chose not to. "See you later…" She walked away, a tear falling down her left cheek.


	10. Chapter 10

Snowstorm let her body fall inelegantly onto the bed. She was tired. After a few days of non-stop travel, the party finally stopped to rest at castle Ostia. She had to share a room with Priscilla and Rebecca. Her eyelids almost closed her eyes when she heard the battle signal. Reluctant but instantly, she got off her bed and went outside. Morphs were everywhere.

"Snowstorm! Nice timing! We kind of need your help!" shouted Hector from the throne room.

The mage immediately went to the Great Lord. "What kind of help…?"

"See those morphs? That damn Nergal keeps sending them over and over again. We're going to be outnumbered at any time, so…"

"I understand. Just give me the command when the time comes…" said Snowstorm without even letting Hector finished his sentence.

Hector then started gathering his allies who could still fight to help defending the castle along with the knights of Ostia. He ordered Oswin to guard the throne while he led the others to assault the morphs. While they were still organizing themselves, Snowstorm caught something peculiar among the morphs. Not just odd, but, significant. She began to lose her concentration towards the war council and eventually, she got herself 'lost'.

"All of you get it?" asked Hector.

"Yes, Lord Hector!" answered the others.

"I'll repeat it once again. Priscilla shall stay here to aid Oswin in defending the throne along with Rebecca. Eliwood shall lead the attack from the right exit of the throne room while Hector goes to the left side. Lord Pent, Lady Louise and Karel will go and handle the enemies towards the guest room. Rath and I will back Snowstorm up while she's casting her magic," explained Lyn. "Any question?"

Eliwood raised his hand. "I have a question… Who are you backing up?"

"Snowstorm…"

"So… Where is she…?" A pregnant pause followed. They finally decided on proceeding with their plan as they believed that she would show up sooner or later, or so…

Meanwhile, Snowstorm stood on an ice pillar to get a better view. She scanned the morphs to find the peculiarity and when she found it, beads of chilly sweat rolled down her temple. She saw a morph, but it looked quite different from the other morphs Nergal created. While the morph still had ebony hair and golden eyes, it lacked the common look that the other morphs possessed. One thing she noticed throughout her battles with Nergal's morphs is that the 'lower-ranking' ones had the same face. This one bizarre morph, however, was familiar to her. It resembled someone from her past. As if it noticed someone was watching it, the morph turned to look at Snowstorm.

Suddenly, she felt a tremor. She looked down to see a morph warrior swinging its axe in an attempt to break the ice pillar. As she was about to zap it with Infinite Lightning, she noted how recognizable it was and lost her focus. An arrow was aimed to her neck, but Lyn arrived just in time and sliced the arrow in half.

"Snowstorm! What're you doing?! You're in the middle of a battle! Don't space out!" scolded Lyn.

Snowstorm snapped out of her deep thought. She caught the sight of a number of poison arrows coming from Lyn's back. She leapt in the air and turned the ice pillar into icicles to parry the arrows. Landing with her back facing Lyn, she said, "Don't get carried away, Lyn…" She began chanting. As the surrounding started to be covered in frost, the odd morph which piqued her attention before appeared before her. "…You…?!"

"Snowstorm! Ah! Rath! Shoot that morph!" shouted Lyn.

The son of the Silver Wolf pulled his bow when Snowstorm yelled, "Don't! Let me handle this one!" He then released his arrow towards the warrior that tried to break Snowstorm's ice pillar before. Although it hit it, it was still standing. A warrior, after all, was very formidable. Rath proceeded with wiping out the enemies with Lyn and the others, buying some time for the reinforcements to arrive.

"…What a funny twist of fate… I was born in this weather… I was named because of this weather… You taught me casting a magic to cause this weather… You died because of this weather… Now, we meet again while I'm casting the magic you taught me…" said Snowstorm to the morph. "Mother, behold… Snowstorm!" A strong, ice cold wind blew in the palace. Snow started falling heavily indoors.

"…Snow Spear!" The morph, a sage, used its power to lift a lump of snow to form a spear and propelled it to Snowstorm.

"Overheat!" She aimed her left palm towards the spear and it melted. "Infinite Thunder!" She tried to strike the morph in the form of her mother, but it evaded. "Even as a morph, you're still good… But… You're not my mother… You're empty!"

"…... Thousand Arrows… Icicle!" Countless icicles materialized above the morph and shot towards her.

"Infinite Fire: Flare Glare!" She aimed both palms towards the morph and the incoming icicles with the fingers on one hand away from the other hand. A large, flaming eye emerged from her palms and became larger as it was launched towards her opponent. The icicles were destroyed and the huge fire burnt the morph to crisp. However, the few moments of opening gave an opportunity to the morph warrior to attack her from her right side. Due to her blind right eye, she was not aware of the attack until it was too late. The arrow from the warrior already pierced her right shoulder and the sharp end surfaced at her left shoulder. In agony, Snowstorm tried to zap it with Infinite Lighting, but it fired another arrow to her. This time, it thrust her left chest.

"Snowstorm!" Hector yelled from afar. "Lyn! Snowstorm's in danger!"

The Sacaen was occupied with a number of morphs. "Ah! Snowstorm!" She tried to sneak away, but there was no chance. Even Rath had his hands full.

The morph warrior was a few steps away from Snowstorm with its axe in its hand. As it lifted its hand, the thick snow suddenly burst as an extremely fast-moving person struck the warrior. The axe fell onto the floor as the morph looked at the part of its arm where its hand used to be at.

"Looking for your hand…?" asked Karel mockingly.

It looked down to see its severed hand firmly gripping the axe, so it took the axe by its own hand and tried to hit Karel with it.

Karel merely moved his upper body slightly, but the tip of the axe grazed his left cheek slightly. "Hmph… You have a longer reach, I suppose…" He glanced at Snowstorm who was behind the warrior. "You're in the way…"

With struggle, she warped herself to the throne room. "…F-F-Forgive… me… I… have to… r-r-re…treat…" She passed out.

As soon as Snowstorm fainted, the effect of her magic wore out. The snowstorm stopped and the morphs were able to move as usual compared to how limited their movements before. After all, the storm was advantageous for defence.

Although the warrior Karel faced was far larger than him, he was quicker and more skilful. Moreover, his mastery of the sword was enough for him to defeat the axe-wielder. He was just done from delivering the finishing blow to the warrior when Denning shot his sword arm. He hissed and turned to see the one-liner morph.

"Karel! Are you alright?!" cried Lyn.

"Pfah!"

Instantaneously, Lyn shot a silver arrow at Denning. Rath showed up from his back and stabbed him. He did not pull the sword out, instead, he violently pulled it upwards, ripping its right chest and limb off. Eliwood then hurled a javelin to Denning and killed it successfully. Not too long after that, reinforcements arrived and the castle was successfully defended.

* * *

"Remember, everyone! Just this one hour to get everything we need!" commanded Hector.

Everyone went out to buy supplies. Bartre was visibly pleased and excited to see an arena, so he immediately headed there. As he arrived there, he saw a familiar figure. Black hair, white robe, a sword on the right side of her waist and an almost expressionless face. He recalled the fateful encounter on the Western Isles. His battle blood boiled as he went to the woman.

"You! Wench!"

The woman looked puzzled. "Hm…?"

"Meeting me here will be your doom! I must erase the shame I met on the Western Isles! Come! We duel!" exclaimed Bartre as he drew out his axe.

"…Oh, I remember you. You're the guy who came out of nowhere and challenged me… The one I knocked out with my first sword stroke…"

"The Bartre before you is not the same one you faced then! I will have my revenge here in Ostia! Now, dig up some courage, and do your worst!"

She sighed. "Hmmm… I did not come here looking for a fight, but how can I refuse you your revenge? Let us begin…" She unsheathed her sword and they exchanged blows for a few seconds. "Oh… It seems you've improved some…"

"Quiet! We've only just started. Continue!"

She sheathed her sword. "So tell me, where have you been training?"

"I serve Lord Eliwood now. I'm working as a guard for him! Tough opponents every day, but we just tear 'em up and cast 'em aside!"

She smiled. "Ha… That's interesting. If that's the case, I think I'll join you…"

"What?"

"My brother gravitates toward strong warriors… This journey of yours sounds like a dangerous one. Joining you might help me find him sooner."

Bartre looked frustrated. "I don't know what you mean! What about our duel?!"

"We'll put it on hold. Don't worry. I don't run away. I like you. It would be a waste to kill you here. Someday, I'll finish you in an appropriate fashion!"

He grinned. "OK! Agreed! You're now my sworn enemy, wench!"

The swordswoman then went to Eliwood, Hector and Lyn. She introduced herself as Karla, a sword fighter in search for her brother. Eliwood and Hector did not trust her at first, but when Lyn noted that Karla was a Sacaen and Sacaens were not liars, they accepted her in their ranks. According to Hector, they had a few swordsmen from Sacae which piqued Karla's interest. She went to see the people in the army, but the only Sacaen sword fighter she saw were Lyn, Guy and Rath who was still practising his swordplay. There was no sight of her brother. She thought that he was not there… until she saw a cleric coming out of a room. Karla immediately went into that room to see a woman lying on her bed, unconscious. Apparently, she was terribly injured.

Seeing her brother nowhere, she exited the room. A few moments later, Karel came out of the bathroom and sat on a bed next to Snowstorm. As he glanced at her, he saw a strand of black hair on her blanket. He took it. It was not hers as it was longer than her hair, but it was not his either since his hair was longer than that. Whose hair was that…?


	11. Chapter 11

The alliance arrived at the Dread Isle after the long sail. A few hours of walking and they now stood before the Dragon's Gate. As they pushed on, a lightning appeared from the sky and almost struck Eliwood if it wasn't for Nils warning him. Limstella showed herself and went to guard the Dragon's Gate entrance once she summoned her underlings. The party prepared for the next battle.

Karla, who was deployed for the next battle, was checking on her sword to make sure it was in its best shape when she saw Karel coming out of a carriage. She immediately went to him. "Brother!"

Karel was a bit shocked to see his sister. "Karla…"

"It really is you! I've finally found you." She smiled cheerfully.

"I have been looking for you as well. Of the six of us, four are gone. You and I are all that remain…"

Her smiled faded away and was replaced by a look of pure surprise. "No… It can't be…! Brother… Our parents…"

"…slain by my blade…" He could see Karla tensed up. "You are of the same blood. You must understand. Only one can wield the sword. Our clan lived for this sword, as they died by it." He said as he gestured his sword. "Our father knew this and tried to protect the sword." Karla was silent. "You were not worth fighting at the time. But… time changes… everything… Beautiful, Karla. Truly beautiful…"

Karla looked perplexed. "Brother?"

"Your swordsmanship. It truly is a thing to behold. So much that I can barely resist the urge to strike you down…" His blood began to boil in excitement.

"You would kill… me, too?"

"Eventually, yes. It is you or I, Karla. One and only one can carry this sword…"

Karla fell into complete silence. The Karel she once knew had gone… He had changed a lot. She looked up to see Karel looking past her, so she turned around to see the woman who was unconscious before coming out of another carriage. That woman glared dagger at Karel.

"Brother, who is she?" asked Karla.

"Snowstorm, a magic user. She has a great potential, like you, Karla." With that said, he went to said mage.

Karla could see Snowstorm trying to keep her distance from Karel, but he did not permit it as he came closer and closer. He seemed to say something to her, prompting her to try to eavesdrop, but Hector called her as the battle started. She left, not before turning back to see them sitting down side by side.

* * *

"You're awake, I see…" Karel whispered.

"S-S-Stay away…" Snowstorm backed off.

"The battle's starting. They won't allow me to join…" He sat.

She sat next to him. "Well… You left your post…"

"Pfah…!"

"Don't 'Pfah…!' me!"

"Pfeh...!"

"Stop…!"

Karel turned to see the mage holding her bandaged chest as she went into a coughing fit. They were lucky that Denning's arrow did not hit any of her vital organs. If it did, he would've lost his future opponent. She still needed improvements. "Did you see that woman…?"

"The swordswoman? Yeah… I think I saw her somewhere before… Who is she…?"

"That's my sister…"

She seemed unimpressed. "Is she a bloodthirsty demon like you…?"

"She… is… different … But, our destiny… is the same… For this sword…" He touched his Wo Dao.

Snowstorm glanced at said sword. Karel's sister had the same sword, but it looked more pure than his. She must speak to her after this battle. She must… That probably the only way to save everything… Yes… She must…

* * *

After the battle ended, Karla went to see Karel. Upon seeing his sister, the Sword Demon grinned and got up. Snowstorm looked at him worriedly.

"Brother…"

"Karla. Perfect… Shall we begin?" He drew his blade. "Draw your blade, Karla…" She did not move an inch, but only gazed at her brother. "What? Why do you wait…?"

Snowstorm saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Do you remember, brother? It was so long ago… We were still little…"

"What are you talking about…?"

She closed her eyes. "The plains shone scarlet in the twilight… I was crying because I had lost my way. You picked me up and carried me home…"

Karel furrowed his brow. "The memory is… lost to me. I cannot recall it…"

"I remember it so clearly. The warmth of your back. If I could, I would have stayed that way forever." Karel was silent. "I hate the sword… I never wanted to learn a skill that could only be used to kill… But it was the only way I could get close to you, brother…" Karla looked at Karel's eyes. His iris were everywhere. "You seem unable to concentrate, brother. Forgive me… Perhaps, we should duel another time…"

Karel sheathed his sword and left to clear his mind. Karla was about to leave when she remembered the presence of Snowstorm. She looked down to see the mage. "You appear to be close to my brother…"

"Karla…"

"Save my brother."

"Sorry?"

Karla sighed. "My brother is driven mad because of that sword. I wanted to best him so that I can have him back, the one he used to be when we were children. But, I'm not strong enough."

Snowstorm looked down. "Everything depends on you, Karla. If you can touch his heart, you can save him. I… also want him to stop… But I'm still powerless against him." Karla was speechless. She expected the woman who travelled with Karel to be an insane, bloodthirsty killer like her brother, but she was wrong. She had the same resolve as herself. "Karla, one of us won't do. We need to do it together. If we want to bring him back, we need to do it together. It's victory or death. We'll be victorious if we managed to bring him back, otherwise, we shall die trying…"

"…Yes."

Meanwhile, Karel stood among the ruins. He tried to remember that day. The day Karla spoke of. But he saw nothing. Instead of the scarlet plains, he saw the crimson blood. Everything in his memory was blood red. He stained his own memory with blood. He failed to recall anything and it built up his frustration. Screaming in exasperation, he sliced several ruins to release everything. Out of breath he was, but he felt better than before. But then, Karla's words came again.

"Ah! Where's the memory?!" The Sword Demon started slicing ruins again. As he was busy, he vaguely heard a child's voice in his head.


	12. Chapter 12

Karla stared into the horizon. The vast ocean reminded her of the plains where they were born. She reminisced on her childhood with her brother. That day, she went to pick some flowers for their mother's birthday. She got distracted by a butterfly as she followed it everywhere it went. That resulted in her being lost. She tried to find her way back home, but she ended up returning to the same place. She cried and cried for she was alone. That moment, Karel who was looking for her heard her cry. He went to her. He comforted her. He whispered soothing words to her ears. He wiped her tears and stroked her head to calm her down. After her cry was reduced to choked sobs, he picked her up and carried her on his back.

"Karla, I'm so sorry for leaving you alone… You must be afraid… I promise I won't leave you again… I promise, Karla…" said Karel as he walked slowly.

"Brother…" She sobbed. "You really mean it?"

"Yes. I mean it. I won't ever leave you again, Karla. But you must promise me something too…"

Karla's head rose. "What is it, brother?"

Karel smiled. "Don't leave me too…"

The little girl dropped her head onto her brother's warm back. "I promise. We'll be together… Forever…"

They continued walking across the vast scarlet plains. The sun was setting.

"Brother, I left the flowers I picked for mother in the forest… She must be sad…" Karla said discontentedly.

"It's okay, Karla. Mother'll be sadder if you don't return home. Not just mother… Father, the others… I'll be wrecked if I were to lose you, Karla…"

"…Brother…"

Karla mumbled some inaudible words. "She's asleep…"

She felt so comfortable on his back. The warmth of her brother when they were children, she wouldn't ever forget. Karla wanted them to be like how they used to be when they were little. She wanted to live up to their promises. 'We'll be together… Forever…' She got up, her hand was on her sword. 'We'll be victorious if we manage to bring him back, otherwise, we'll die trying…'

The Princess of Swords paced to find the Sword Demon as she contemplated the meaning of their lives now. 'What are we…? Are we even alive…? Do we have any heart or soul…? What do we live for…? Or we… are no different… from the morphs…?' So many questions popped up her mind. 'What is the real value of life…?' As the final question was asked, she arrived at her brother. He was standing among some ruins.

"Brother…"

Karel turned around. He seemed to regain his concentration. "Karla… Are you ready?"

"…Yes… Do as you wish, brother. When I fall to you, I will leave no regrets." She took in a deep breath.

'What are we…?' "We are less than human now." The first question was answered.

'Are we even alive…?' "We are no different from our swords themselves." The second question was answered.

'Do we have any heart or soul…? What do we live for…?' "Our hearts are cold, and we count the days we live solely by the flesh we cleave…" The third and fourth questions were answered.

'What is the real value of life…?' "Brother, what meaning can there be in such an existence…?" Karla could not find the answer for the last question, so she asked her brother, seeking his wisdom, his comfort, his soothing, his everything, but he fell into utter silence. She closed her eyes as she imagined the ruins as the scarlet plains they grew up on. "Cut me down, brother. I simply wanted to hear your voice before I died. Now… I have… I am satisfied…" She waited for the infamous Wo Dao to tear her apart. The wait felt like forever.

"Karla… You haven't changed… But I have. I must have. When I am with you, I remember the past…"

"Brother…"

"I couldn't find my memories alone, Karla. But when you're here, I see everything. The past…" Karel turned back. "Go, Karla… Go where you will. I will not fight you…"

"Brother… Brother, what will you… do?" Seeing his slight twitch, she continued. "I won't stop you… I doubt you can resist the destiny of our blood for long… So I will wait for you. On the scarlet plain, I will wait for my brother to come home…"

The Sword Demon glanced at Karla to see her tearful smile. That smile… He remembered it. The smile she always carved when they were little. The smile that put him at ease all the time. The smile that became his light. What had he done to her…? Why did he stain that angelic smile with such tears…? As Karla left, Karel fell to his knees. He held his head. Something came to his mind. A voice… A voice of a child… No… Not a child, but two. They exchanged promises… But… What were the promises…?

Meanwhile, Karla returned to the spot where she gazed at the horizon. She did not know why she could not stop her tears. Although she was crying, she was… relieved… Not because her brother did not want to kill her, but because she could see the light of hope from him. After this war, she would return to her plains of birth. She would wait for him. She promised to herself.

While the two sword masters were lost in thoughts, Hector and the others struggled against the Magic Seal and the remaining morphs as they could not deploy any magic user to aid them. When the Magic Seal was defeated, they regrouped.

"Where are Karel and Karla?" asked Lyn.

"There's Karel! Oh! And that's Karla coming here."

Once they were there, they pressed on to the Dragon's Gate and discussed on who would go with Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, Athos and Nils to the final battle.


	13. Chapter 13

_This chapter is a full load of OOC-ness... Prepare..._

* * *

That morning, in the Dragons' Gate, before Limstella's final battle…

"These are…"

Nergal grinned. "Yes. These are the so-called greatest couple of Ilia. Their prowess was renowned in Elibe that I sought to have their mighty quintessence. These are the sage and the warrior you, Sonia and Ephidel defeated 20 odd years ago in Ilia. Do you remember them, Limstella?"

"…Yes, master. This woman was… a sage who tried to change the weather and this man… was her husband."

"Do you remember how you defeated them?"

"The sage was performing a… ritual… to permanently stop the snowstorm… Sonia interfered and the ritual… failed… When she was off-guard, I took her quintessence."

"Yes, Limstella. That was the most beautiful quintessence ever."

"The warrior… was confronted by Ephidel… He was gravely wounded and I came to harvest his quintessence… We left them to die in the storm…"

"His quintessence was also beautiful. Now, I completed them, using their own quintessence and their own appearances. Truly magnificent!" Nergal laughed. "Their essences were so powerful that I could make two morphs out of them! I sent a pair to castle Ostia before and these two remain here. Limstella, I permit you to take them with you. They are now your underlings."

"… Master…" Limstella sensed something.

"Hmm… Ah… So they're coming… Go, Limstella. Bring their essences to me. I have given you magic stronger than any seen on the continent. Through this magic, you have gained much power. Perfect strength and perfect beauty. You are my masterpiece, Limstella." The morph stared at him emptily. "However, your flesh cannot endure the power of this sorcery. Before tomorrow, your entire body will be corrupted. But, this is what you desire, yes? The chance to die for me?"

Limstella bowed. "As you wish…"

* * *

Karel watched the lords having a serious discussion from a distance. He hadn't fight for a while. His sword craved blood.

"We need those who really are worthy to fight alongside us, those who can survive this decisive battle!" exclaimed Eliwood.

"I hate to put my friends in danger, but if we can't rely on them, we're putting everything in danger," stated Lyn.

"We can't bring everyone in, can we, Graybeard?" asked Hector.

"I'm afraid no. It'll be a trouble if there're suddenly morphs coming from outside, so we need some of us to stay and guard here," said Athos.

"Somehow, I sense some familiar… quintessence…" said Nils suddenly.

"What do you mean?" asked Lyn.

"Be careful. Things are going to get ugly in there…"

"Whatever it is, we must decide now on whom to bring with us… Let's just take 8 strongest ones!" exclaimed Hector.

"And they must be the ones who can fight well side by side and support one another!" said Eliwood.

After a long discussion, they entered the temple along with the 8 people they had chosen. Karel was not chosen, unfortunately. Snowstorm was also left out as she was still injured. So they stayed outside with the rest of the army.

As they were waiting, some of them heard rustlings in the bushes. Suddenly, a silver arrow appeared out of nowhere towards Pent, but Louise parried it with her own arrow. A number of morphs emerged from the bushes, armed and equipped. Wasting not even a split second, Marcus ordered them to take up arms to fight against Nergal's henchmen and not let them get in. Merlinus and the healers were to stay at the back lines. As they began battling the morphs, Snowstorm caught sight of a certain warrior. The same warrior which hurt her in castle Ostia. Her wound ached. The warrior lunged towards her with its axe, but Snowstorm evaded it and shot several fireballs towards it. It swung its axe to chop off her head, but she leapt and landed on the large axe. Placing her left palm on the blade of the axe, she chanted.

"Zud Contact!" Frost formed on the axe. As the axe got colder and colder, it cracked and broke to pieces. Snowstorm leapt off the broken weapon and tried to zap it with Infinite Thunder, but it evaded the magic. It then fired an arrow, but she used Overheat to burn the arrow to crisp.

"Snowstorm?! Are you done there?! What's taking you so long?!" scolded Marcus as he pierced his lance through a morph.

"Shut up! Grumpy old man!" She stabbed a few morphs with her Sand Sword and turned to look at Marcus. "Can't you see I'm busy?!"

Marcus was cross. "If you have the time to talk back, then you're NOT busy!"

"Now there… I thought the idea was to fight the morphs…" Renault sighed.

Snowstorm pointed towards Marcus. "That old man started it!"

Marcus' jaw dropped. "What the…?! O-O-O-O-Old man?! You just talked back to me, spoiled brat! You're so going to get it!"

"Get what?! Your spit on my face?! No thanks!"

His jaw dropped further. "Such an insult to a knightly knight as myself is truly the greatest shame and humiliation!"

"Enough with your wearing a round trousers!" yelled Snowstorm.

"It's GOING AROUND THE BUSHES! You stupid mage!"

"S-S-S-S-Stupid mage?! A buffoon is no fit to be a mage! I'm a genius, unlike you, grumpy old man!"

Marcus fired up. "You've crossed the line, brat! Prepare for the worst!"

"Enough with your ranting! Do your worst, old man!"

Lightning sparked between them.

"Ah! Sir Marcus! Behind you!" shouted Isadora as she saw a hero morph lifting its sword behind the paladin.

Sain noticed the warrior trying to fire another arrow from Snowstorm's back. "My sweet, beautiful Lady Snowstorm! Watch out for your *alluringly cloaked* back!"

Marcus threw his javelin towards Snowstorm in fury. "No kid talks rudely to me like you! Huarghhh!"

"I hate grumpy old man like you! Hiyaaaah!" She hurled an Infinite Lightning Ball to him.

The attacks went past them as they dodged them, but unfortunately, the enemies behind them were hit instead. The hero's head went off while the warrior got the javelin right between its eyes. The two continued bickering.

"Ah… They'll be fine on their own…" said Kent.

"Yeah… Let's get back to our business…" Wil walked away from their attack ranges.

Karel shook his head at the sight as he continued slaughtering. However, his concentration was a little disturbed by the high-pitched shriek from Serra telling Marcus and Snowstorm to stop.

"Eeek! Stop it you two! Look! Some of them got here! Eeek! Get off!" cried Serra as she swung her staff to keep the morphs away.

"Fear not, Miss Serra for I shall protect you!" Merlinus threw the broken weapons in his possession towards the morphs, but to no avail.

The morphs snarled at them. "Ack! Kyaaaah!" The two fled from that place and hid behind Wallace. To be exact, they actually clung to him so tight that he could barely move.

"What the…?! Come on! Let go of me! I can't fight like this!" yelled Wallace.

"Save me! Kyaaah!" cried Serra.

"I don't want to die yet! Please let me live to serve Lord Eliwood!" wailed Merlinus.

"I get it! But if I can't move, how can I save you?!" yelled the retired knight.

The morphs approached them. Just in time…

"Come with me, Farina! Tri… Er… Not-So-Triangle Attack!" Fiora and Farina simultaneously attacked one of the morphs. "Once again!"

"Aye! Not-So-Triangle Attack!" The Pegasus sisters defeated another morph. "We did it, sis!"

"Yes! Ah! There's another one!" Fiora pointed to the last morph left in front of Wallace, Serra and Merlinus.

"Step aside, puny Pegasus!" shouted Vaida.

Farina looked at her sardonically. "You mean… 'Fly aside'…?"

"Ah! Whatever! I'm taking that thing out! Let's go, Umbriel!" She dived towards the morph.

"More to Umbrella to me… Go Vaida! Go Umbrella!" cheered Farina.

Veins popped up Vaida's temple. "I HEARD YOU!" In anger, she took down the morph.

"WAHHHHH! THANK YOU FIORA FARINA VAIDA! WE WERE SO AFRAID!" cried Serra and Merlinus as they let go off Wallace.

Wallace inhaled deeply. "At last, I can breathe! Hah… hah… Eh? What's this fluid on my armour?! It's smelly! My precious armour!"

Meanwhile, Snowstorm and Marcus were still fighting. "Is that the best you can do, grumpy old man?!"

"What a rude kid! You youngsters don't know the value of experience!" He charged with his sword.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" She sent an Infinite Excalibur.

Their attacks missed, at least, their real target. Most of the morphs were wiped out due to the impact of their fight. As they were panting, the others applauded them for their 'success'. Unfortunately, none noticed that three generals survived and managed to sneak into the temple… Not even Karel as he was busy with a warrior… with a new weapon… which is the lance sticking out between its eyes… The Sword Demon had quite a trouble to land a hit as the lance was too long. But, the trouble lasted not too long as he cut the lance bit by bit until there was no lance at all. He then sliced the morph in half.

Snowstorm noticed him. "Ah! Karel! That's my opponent! How dare you!"

"Hmph…!" He sheathed his sword and walked away.

"Don't 'hmph…!' me! Karel! Come back!" She went after Karel.

Marcus got irritated. "Don't leave! We're not finished!" He went after Snowstorm.

"Don't follow me, grumpy old man! I won!" yelled Snowstorm.

"No, you didn't! You pulled my foot to make me trip! That's cheating!" scolded Marcus.

"Shut up! I'm no knight! I've no need for your kind of fight! Blehhh!" She stuck out her tongue as she ran away from Marcus. "Ah! Karel! Where're you?!" Karel vanished. "It's all your fault! Now Karel's gone!"

Marcus stopped. "Why is it MY fault?! Want to fight?!"

"Bring it on!"

"Here they go again…" Rebecca sighed.

"I can't tell if they're really serious about the fight or not… I wonder if Lord Athos can tell…" said Pent.

Louise giggled. "My… I hope they won't end up marrying…"

Hawkeye imagined a huge mansion with lances, swords and axed sticking to the walls with some burnt marks. The mansion would quiver everyday and the neighbours would have severe insomnia. "May their marriage never happen…"

"Will Captain Fargus enjoy it if I tell him this story…?" questioned Dart. "Hell even Jake's gonna tell Anna this…"

Nino jumped in excitement. "Hey Jaffar! Who're you rooting for?! Who'll win?!"

Jaffar answered in a cold tone, "I'll win…"

Out of the blue, Legault and Matthew held him from each side. "Don't you dare, Angel of Death! You're going to kill our comrade!" yelled Legault.

"I won't let you kill my friend anymore!" exclaimed Matthew.

"…I'm just… err… umm… erm… saying a thing to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punch line…" said Jaffar.

"By that thing… Did you mean… joke?" asked Nino in disbelief.

"…Yes…"

Nino, Legault and Matthew burst in laughter.

In the midst of the commotion, Eliwood and the others exited the temple with Ninian in his arms. Immediately, Marcus stopped fighting. "Lord Eliwood! You're unharmed! Thank goodness!"

Snowstorm gritted her teeth. 'That grumpy old man!' She, along with the rest of the team, went to Eliwood and the others. "Where's Lord Athos?"

The victors looked down. "He… passed away…" said Lyn.

Snowstorm glanced at Pent. He seemed a little distraught but Louise comforted him and he smiled reassuringly. "How about Nils?"

"He went to close the gate…" said Hector.

Ninian held back her tears. "We… won't see him… anymore…"

"Hey, cheer up, Ninian. Nils wanted you to be happy!" said Eliwood. Ninian smiled.

"Whatever it is… Daybreak! Finally! We're out of the dark!" exclaimed Hector.

"Beautiful, isn't it? The start of another day…" said Lyn.

"Let's go home. To Lycia!" said Eliwood.

The army of victory headed for the shore, completely disregarding whatever took place outside the temple before.

* * *

 _Done with FE7 but the story must continue... Thanks for sticking with this story :')_


	14. Chapter 14

_Ah... Writer's block... Such a nightmare... Anyways, new chapter._

* * *

Snowstorm sipped her wine. She was supposed to be in Pherae celebrating the victory against Nergal with Eliwood and the others, but she chose to slip away. She sneakily entered an inn and remained there until they left, giving up looking for some of their missing allies.

"Another serving please!" She asked for another glass of wine.

The bartender sighed. "You're gonna get drunk, lil miss…" He said as he served her.

"I'm no 'lil miss'!"

A red-haired innkeeper came. "Don't talk to our customer like that. If she can afford to pay us, then it's fine."

"If you said so…" He continued cleaning some glasses.

Moments later, Karel came. He sat next to Snowstorm and ordered some liquor for himself. After he chugged it down, he spoke to her. "Where do you think you're going? We haven't had our match yet…"

"You're still here? I thought you left for Sacae…"

"Why would I go to Sacae?"

"Well… Your sister's there… So…Err… Never mind…"

"Hmph…"

"Karel… I'm thinking about travelling the continent… alone…" said Snowstorm, looking at the red liquid in her glass. She could feel Karel shooting a deadly glare at her. "I'm not running away. I promised you and I'm not the type to break my promise. It's just that… when I'm with you… I tend to rely on you… I can't face my own weakness because you're around…"

Karel frowned. "How long it's going to take…?"

"I don't know. I'm going to perfect my magic during my travels… So it's going to take years or maybe decades…"

The Sword Demon got up. "Very well… In that case, I shall wait for that day… with anticipation…" He left.

"Karel…"

The innkeeper got up her seat. "WAIT A MINUTE! YOU HAVEN'T PAID!" But it was too late. Karel was nowhere to be seen. "Aaah! I suppose that's the guy my sister spoke of…"

Snowstorm got interested. "Your sister?"

"I have lots of sisters. One of them lives somewhere in Ilia. You see… Back then, there was a swordsman who committed a 'dine and dash'. Well, technically, he didn't dash, he just walked away, but he didn't PAY! Well, whatever… She recognized him a few days later as the Sword Demon and she told all of us about it. I guess even someone of his notoriety have no money… I wouldn't want to travel with that kind of man. I'd rather go with a moneybag. Ahhh… What a bad luck bringer that Sword Demon is. He took off without paying my 380G for that drink… When he comes here again, I'll squeeze the money out of him. I don't care if he's the Sword Demon, Sword Saint or whatever it is, I'll definitely do it. I'm not going to forget him. Never!" She broke her glass in the process. "Ah! My 1020G! Gahhh! That Sword Demon is such a bringer of bad luck!"

Snowstorm was speechless. She recalled seeing a red-haired woman just like the innkeeper who yelled at them from a distance back in Ilia. 'I suppose I'll pay his drinks…'

"Hey Anna! Whatcha doin'? Why are ya getting' so worked up?" Jake entered the inn with his pirate friends.

"Jake my sweetheart! It's just a troublesome customer! Well done! I'm so proud of your victory!" She went to hug Jake.

"I did nothin' much, sweetheart," said Jake humbly.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you didn't tell them about the armoury on the ship, they would have to fight unarmed when their weapons broke," Anna giggled.

"Anna's right, mate!" exclaimed Dart. He noticed Snowstorm from afar. "Ahoy! Snowstorm! Ya still 'ere?"

"Obviously… Where's Fargus?" asked the mage.

"Captain's coming soon! Come and join us! Let's toast!"

Snowstorm took out some money and put it on the table. "Nah… I'll pass… Here's the money for my drink. And I'm paying for the swordsman too… See you around, Dart…" She exited the inn. As she walked, she sensed an unpleasant presence. 'I'm being watched…' The mage continued walking until she reached the centre part of the town. Gripping her tome firmly, she turned around. "Show yourselves!"

One of the men lurking in the shadows came out. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth and his eye bags were heavily pronounced. His skin was pallid just like Snowstorm's. He licked his killing edge. "Anything for Lady Sonia…"

Snowstorm raised an eyebrow. "Sonia's dead…"

"I'll do anything… for Lady Sonia… She'll see me as the best… in the Black Fang…" He grinned. The other men appeared. All of them were ready to battle the meaningless battle. "Boys, rip her apart and we shall offer her to Lady Sonia! Let her cornered like a rat and give her a slow, painful death!" The remnants of Black Fang who were faithful to Sonia scattered around the town.

"…This spells trouble…" Snowstorm whispered.

"Ahoy!" Fargus yelled from behind. He was on his way to join his crewmates partying. "What's up, lass?"

"Hey, Fargus… Just dealing with some thugs…" She pointed towards the Black Fang.

"Quite a number… Need a hand?"

"I'll be fine, but I need someone to make sure the townsfolk are unharmed."

"We, Fargus' pirates, have been protectin' these people for years!" The kind-hearted pirate left.

Snowstorm lifted her hand and aimed her left palm towards her opponents. "Infinite Elfire!" The fast-moving, large barrel of flame burnt three Black Fang members while two myrmidons dodged it. The two charged towards the mage with their silver swords and swung the swords simultaneously. She leapt backwards while unleashing an Infinite Shine to harm the swordsmen. As the two were sent flying, a large, muscular man approached and accidentally stepped on them as he was too enormous to see the two lying on the ground. He wore tight shorts and tight tops with red gloves. Seeing his little adversary, he dashed to her to gain momentum, but she disturbed him by summoning earth pillars in his way. She wanted to kill him with those, but his reflex was fast enough for him to evade them. Frustrated by the pillars, he started punching and destroying them with his fists. "…That… really is melee combat…" The combatant finally made his way to Snowstorm and he was about to land a punch on her when she touched his hand. He looked at the little hand, blinking his eyes several times in confusion. "Overheat!" He turned to coal.

The other assassins trembled. "She's crazy!" exclaimed one of them.

"I'm crazy? How rude…" With a dark smile on her face, she cast a number of spells on the Black Fang members. The only ones left were the one with his tongue stuck out and two archers. "Ah…! I overdid it…"

The two archers saw that as a chance, so they fire all of their arrows to Snowstorm, but of course the mage would simply destroy them. As they ran out of ammo, both of them fled the battlefield. The frowning mage struck them with an Infinite Bolting, though.

"Who are you…?" asked Snowstorm.

"She killed almost all of them and now only she bothers to ask who they are…? Really? That's our hero…?" pondered Anna who, along with the rest of the citizen, watched the battle from the buildings. "At least she's got money."

"Dora…" The man answered.

"And he bothers to answer?! And what kind of name Dora is?!"

"Who's Dora?" asked Jake.

"That man…" said Dart.

"Really? I thought Dora is the *BEEEEP* girl…" said Jake.

Everyone's jaw dropped. "She's THAT great?!"

Jake snorted. "Aye. They said she stopped a thief several times by just sayin' 'stop thievin', you thievin' bastard.'"

Suddenly, a black-haired girl spoke. "Oh…! You're talking about Do…?"

Everyone went 'shhhh!' to shut her mouth. "Don't say that name here! She's gonna get all the limelight!"

"Pffft… This place is boring… Nothing to be explored… Let's get the hell out of here, Boots…" She grabbed her purple backpack and left with her monkey.

"What's up with that girl?! And she didn't pay!" yelled Anna.

"Shut yer mouth, brat! I'm tryin' to watch!" shouted Fargus.

They continued to watch the battle. Dora was pointing around. "That is Henchman 1. That's Henchman 2. That's the Boxer. That's Archer 1. That's Myrmidon 1. That's…"

"Why the hell are you introducing your dead comrades?!" screamed the citizens. "And why are all of them unnamed?!"

Dora licked his lips. "Because… I forgot their names…"

"Such mockery…" Snowstorm fired up. She lunged towards Dora the assassin. "Infinite LIGHTNING ZAP OF ANGER-'COS-I'M-JUST-SO-DAMN-PISSED-OFF!"

"Miss!" Dora ducked and the lightning hit a building.

"HOW CAN YOU MISS?!" shouted the citizens.

"You made a mistake of missing me…" Dora grinned as he licked his sword.

"Fool!" She knocked his hand and he cut his own tongue.

"Waaaaah! By dongue! (My tongue!)"

Snowstorm charged her left hand. "Get ready for a blast… That's what you get for mocking me…" The bright light suddenly turned to dark aura. "What the…?! Ugh… Whatever… Let's try… Infinite Flux!" Dora was gravely wounded by a dark force. "I can use… dark magic…?"

"So…ni…a… I failed your… order… Alas… I couldn't get… your… lo…ve…"

The mage knelt and grabbed his collar. "Hey…" She shook him. "Hey…!" She shook him more violently. "Hey!" She slapped him. "Hey hey hey!"

"What?!" The unconscious Dora woke up madly.

"Did Sonia send you to kill me?"

"…Yes…"

"Okay…" She dropped him and walked away casually.

"THAT'S ALL?!" yelled everyone.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away…

Karel was sitting at a corner, drinking, when he overheard a conversation. They were gossiping on the Princess of Swords. According to them, she was getting married. Curiosity got the best of him as he set out to his land of birth, the scarlet plains!

* * *

 _Me: Who got the limelight in this chapter? Is it Snowy? Maybe not Karel, but how about Anna? Maybe that Do-! *A monkey in boot suddenly came and scratched my face* Hey! What was that?!_

 _Black-haired girl with purple backpack: *Whispers...**Leaves...*_

 _Me: What the...?! Anyways, expect Karel in the next chapter ^_^_


	15. Chapter 15

Karel stood on top of the hill and gazed upon the vast green plain in front of him. "Sacae… How many years have it been…?" The Sword Demon slowly made his way down the hill and walked across the windy field. As he walked, he saw a little boy running around with his toy bow. There were two other boys trying to ride a horse, but ended up falling off the horse all the time. Seeing that, the adult Sacaen realized that none of his clansmen fought on horseback. Perhaps he should try riding a horse.

"Mister! Mister!"

Karel snapped out of his little reminiscence. "What is it, boy?"

"There's a rabbit at your feet. Can I have it?" asked the boy.

The sword master looked down. "Oh… Take it… I've no need for it…"

"Geee! Thanks, mister!" The boy hopped in joy as he went to catch the rabbit, but the animal escape his clutches. "My rabbit!"

The other boys saw the rabbit. "Get the rabbit!"

"Kaer! You're so dumb! You let a rabbit escape!" scolded one of the boys.

Kaer got up. "Shut up, Boh! You don't even know how to ride a horse!" yelled Kaer.

"Now there, Kaer, Boh, don't fight. We must catch our dinner!" reminded the other boy.

"Redae's right. Hey rabbit! Don't run!" The three boys went after the rabbit.

Karel observed the boys silently. His sweat dropped as the plains turned scarlet. He could see a group of children playing happily without trouble. Among the children, he saw Karla and… himself. His child self looked totally different from his adult self. His eyes were innocent. His tongue never tasted blood. His joy was his family and friends.

"Karel! You can't get me!" One of the children cried happily.

"I'm the fastest among us! I'll get you, Nene!" exclaimed Karel. He went after a girl.

"Eeeek! Karel's coming for me! Run!" Nene ran while the other children scurried. "Eddie! Help me!"

One of the boys picked a pebble. "Karel! I'll throw this you if you touch Nene!"

Another girl snuck up to Eddie and smacked his head. "Don't cheat! It's unfair for you to do that! And Nene! Don't make Eddie do bad stuff!"

Nene pouted. "You're no fun, Yu… Ah…!" Karel got to her.

"I got you! You're 'it'!" He giggled before he ran.

"Karel! That's so unfair!" She saw Karla and two other boys. "I'll get you, Karla, Yorae and Erdin!" She started running after the three.

The kids kept playing without caring about the time. They only knew how to have fun. The sun was setting and they were still playing. This time, Karla had to go after the other kids, but she was a decent runner, so she could easily catch up to Erdin who was a little slow. As they were playing, an adult swordswoman came.

"Yu! Yorae! Time to go home! It's getting late!"

Yorae pouted. "But, mommy! It's still early! We want to play!"

Yu smacked his head. "Yorae! It's not good for us to talk back to adults!"

"Yu, don't smack your little brother's head like that. Let's go home. I've prepared dinner," said the woman. The two kids cheered happily as they followed their mother. "All of you should go home too. Your parents must be worried."

"Okay, Aunt Yessy!" exclaimed Karla. "Brother, let's go home. Brother…!"

"Mister! Mister!"

Karel blinked his eyes and looked down to see Kaer tugging his robe. "What…?"

"Are you okay…? You're daydreaming!" He did not answer. "Hey mister! We're having a party! Want to join?"

"A party…?"

"Yeah! You know the Princess of Swords? She's getting married tomorrow, so we're having a banquet tomorrow night!" exclaimed the boy.

Karel knelt. "Tell me… Who will be her husband?"

"Err… Some warrior… from… I don't know!" Kaer stated.

"I heard it's some worrier…" Boh laughed.

"It's WARRIOR! I heard they met in the west… His name is… Butter!" said Redae.

"Butter? Karla's marrying butter? What nonsense is this?!" Karel yelled. "Whatever… Just take me to her…"

Karel and the kids went to see Karla. When they arrived at her tent, she was nowhere to be seen. According to the adults, she went out with Butter, so Karel himself went to track her down.

"By the way, Kaer, who's that man? He looks familiar…" said an adult.

"I forgot to ask his name! But, it's okay… He's a Sacaen!" said Kaer.

Back to Karel. He went to the place he used to train when he was little. It was a plain in the forest by the river. As he arrived there, he set his sight upon Karla and Bartre who were duelling.

"You are getting better, dear Bartre…" Karla smiled.

"Shut up! If I'm not getting better, I can't protect you!" Bartre yelled.

"Ah… Dear Bartre, you don't need to worry about me. I can pretty much protect myself." As they spoke, she noticed the presence of a familiar figure standing not too far from them. "Hmm…?" The swordswoman turned around. "Bro…ther…? Is that truly you?"

Karel was silent. He only glanced at Bartre. "So… That's Butter…"

Bartre cringed. "Why the hell is everyone calling me Butter?! Hey Karel! Don't you recognize me?!"

"No…"

"You're too blunt!"

"My sword is not blunt…"

"Shut up! I'm Bartre! We fought on the same side before, remember?"

The Sword Demon raised an eyebrow. "Oh… You existed…"

"Grr…! Ah! Karla! I want to hit him!" He dashed to Karel.

"You can't!" Karla was too late, though. Bartre collapsed. "You won't be able to beat him… Besides, you're still fatigued…" She shook her head and sighed. "Just rest, dear Bartre." She eyed Karel. "Brother, you've returned…"

"Why are you marrying him…?" Karel asked menacingly.

"Brother…?"

"Answer me, Karla."

"Aren't you happy… for me…?" Karla avoided his question. Karel looked away as Karla went near him. "Brother, do you remember Yu, Yorae and the others? They're coming for my wedding. I'm so happy that we can reunite after all these years."

"I don't care…" He turned away.

"Brother?"

"I'm leaving… There's no point in fighting you, Butter. You're too weak for me…" He left.

Bartre got up. "It's BARTRE!"

"…However…" Karla and Bartre eyed Karel expectedly. "…If something were to befall Karla, I shall hunt you down, Butter…" With that said, the Sword Demon left the clan and travelled across Sacae. He felt a little nostalgic during his time on the plains, but sadly, he could not remember much about the past. As he wandered aimlessly, he saw two nomads on their horsebacks. They looked so joyful. He, admittedly, felt a little jealous and frustrated over the fact that no horse would let him ride. He could not even touch a horse without getting himself kicked in the face. Nonetheless, he gave up on riding years ago. The swordsman was so absorbed in his recollection that he did not notice the two nomads approaching him.

"Karel…? Is that truly you?"

Karel snapped at the voice. He recognized it. "Lyn…"

"What are you doing here?" The granddaughter of Hausen and the son of Dayan got off their horse. "I reckon you're settling down…?"

No answer from Karel. They stood there in silence for a while until a stray arrow appeared and almost struck Lyn. Luckily, her reflex was quick enough for her to catch it. Karel and Rath looked around to see the bushes rustling. Swiftly, Rath fired an arrow into the bushes, prompting a middle-aged man to come out.

"Who are you?!" questioned Lyn.

The man snorted. "Tch… They got me… Boys! Plan B!" As he yelled that, a group of nomad appeared.

"What is this?!" yelled Lyn.

"We are of the Djute clan! Today, we shall prove to the world that Djute is the strongest!" declared the man. "And I, Derek, shall be the one to lead this operation! Boys, get the son of Silver Wolf and his wife!"

Lyn and Rath got on their horsebacks. "No choice but to teach them a lesson…" stated Lyn, sighing in the process.

"Lyn… Has your archery improved?" asked Rath.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I can handle silver bow pretty well now. How about your swordplay?" A silent nod was all Lyn needed from Rath. "In that case, let's go! Fancy joining us, Karel?"

Karel, seeing the opportunity, grinned. The three Sacaen started to fight. A few arrows were fired in Lyn's direction, but she easily evaded them. While charging, she sliced several men. The other nomads could not keep up with Rath's speed as he was too evasive and the next moment, they were down. However, the scariest one was Karel. The nomad of the Djute felt as if they were fighting against an unseen foe as they could only see blood splattered. After a few minutes, Derek was the only one left standing.

The Djute clansman trembled, but he clenched his sword in determination as he charged forward. "I regret nothing!" He only managed to take a few strides forward as Karel struck him in a blink of an eye.

"Hmph… Djute is pathetic… I expected more…" said Karel.

Rath was silent as usual. Lyn scratched her head. "Well… That's that… I guess we should head home now, Rath…"

"Yeah… Let's go…" Rath turned to face Karel. "Are you coming…?"

Karel sheathed his sword. "I'm leaving…"

"Oh… Too bad… By the way, where's Snowstorm?" asked Lyn. "Surely you didn't – "

"She went travelling… I haven't touched a single hair of her yet…" He outrightly stated as he glared at the noblewoman.

Lyn ruffled her hair. "Err… Yeah… Of course. Well then, we'll take our leave now. Let's go, Rath." Both nomads left.

Karel continued his quest to find a worthy opponent.


End file.
